Johann Georg Liebknecht

Johann Georg Liebknecht (23 April 1679 in Wasungen, Thuringia – 17 September 1749 in Giessen) was a German theologian and scientist.

He was born the son of Michael Liebknecht, schoolmaster, of Wasungen, and his wife, Margarethe Turckin and was educated in the Gymnasium at Schleusingen and at Jena.

He was awarded MA (1702), BD (1717) and DD (1719) [1] Liebknecht was offered a position, on the recommendation of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, at the small state university in Giessen; he was versatile and could teach several subjects competently.

Other focal points of his work lay in the application of mathematics in the military (artillery, fortresses), geology (mineral deposits), archeology (excavations of grave mounds near Giessen), fossils and astronomy.

Like other Protestant theologians he avoided, even 200 years after Copernicus, supporting the heliocentric world view.