Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was born on July 1, 1742 in Ober-Ramstadt. He was the 17th child of the pastor and builder Johann Conrad Lichtenberg and Henriette Katharina Lichtenberg. He was hunchbacked as a result of a rickets in his childhood. One assumed a low life expectancy.
In 1745 the family moved to Darmstadt, where the father worked as first city preacher and in 1749 as superintendent. Georg Christoph was a very bright and interested boy who graduated from high school, the Darmstadt pedagogue, as the best of his year.
In 1763 he enrolled as "Mathematum et physices studiosus" at Georgia-Augusta in Göttingen. Until 1766 he studied mathematics, physics, civil and military architecture, aesthetics, English language and literature, European history, diplomacy and philosophy. He was quickly considered a genius there. In 1770 he became the first professor of experimental physics. From 1778 he edited the Göttingen pocket calendar.
Lichtenberg is known for his witty aphorisms and scientific treatises, but also for his modern lectures and practical demonstrations. He anticipated the balloon flight with gas-filled pig bladders.
Lichtenberg was considered to be cheerful and and found his great love Margarethe Elisabeth Kellner in Göttingen, with whom she had eight children. He died there on February 24, 1799. 500 students are said to have followed the popular teacher on the funeral procession.
Source: Homepage of the city of Ober-Ramstadt