Gottfried Lengnich
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Gottfried Lengnich (Polish: Gotfryd Lengnich)(4 December 1689 in Danzig (now Gdańsk) - 28 April 1774) was a 18th century historian, lawyer and politician. He became known for writing the 9-volume History of Royal Prussia and for teaching Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland.
Gottfried Lengnich was born to the family of a wealthy Danzig merchant. Initially studying at the local college of the St. Mary's church, he was sent to Gniew to study Polish language at the age of 13 before returning to Danzig to study at the Academic Gymnasium, the distant predecessor of the modern University of Gdańsk. In 1710 he went to Halle in Brandenburg, where in 1713 he received a doctorate in Law. Following a brief career at the Hallische Bibliothek digest, he returned to Danzig to study the history of law of Danzig, Royal Prussia and Poland.
In 1718 he started the Polonische Bibliothek issued in German language, the first historical journal about Poland. However, the following year the journal faced financial difficulties and had to be closed down. In 1720 Lengnich also founded one of the first scientific societies in his home town, the Societas Literaria (see also Danzig Research Society). As perhaps the only specialist in the history of Pomerania and Pomerelia, in 1721 he was chosen by the City Council as the official historian of the city, entitled with continuation of Kasper Schütz's monumental Historia Rerum Prussicarum. His History of Royal Prussia, published in 9 volumes, covered the period between 1526 and 1733.
In 1729 Lengnich also became the professor of rhetorics and poetry at the Academic Gymnasium, a protestant Latin language college located in Danzig. The following year he got married. In 1733, during the Siege of Danzig and the War of the Polish Succession, Lengnich was introduced to General Stanisław Poniatowski, the voivode of Masovia and a prominent Polish politician. The latter hired Lengnich as a teacher for two of his sons, one of them being Stanisław August Poniatowski, who later became the last king of Poland. It was for the future king that Lengnich wrote a guidebook to the history of Poland, published in 1740 under the title of Historia Polona a Lecho ad Augusti II mortem (Polish history from Lech to the death of Augustus II). In 1737 he became a honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
During the period of interregnum following the death of Augustus II the Strong, Lengnich became involved in local politics and was initially a partisan of Stanisław Leszczyński. However, later he changed sides and went on to support Augustus III, who rewarded Lengnich with the title of Royal Legislative Minister in 1740. Thanks to the king's support in 1750 he also became a syndic of Danzig.
As a politician, Lengnich promoted the rights of dissidents, that is non-Catholic gentry. Like Daniel Gralath he was a strong proponent of the autonomy of Royal Prussia within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and opposed the forces that wanted to involve Danzig into internal Polish affairs, among them being the Confederation of Bar. As a historian he is best known for his 9-volume Geschichte der preußischen Lande (History of Royal Prussia), as well as several codices on law. Among the latter was the first edition of the Ius publicum Regni Poloniae (Public Law of the Kingdom of Poland) inspired by bishop Andrzej Stanisław Załuski and the Ius publicum civitatis Gedanensis (Public law of the city of Danzig). He was also the editor of the first edition of Polish Chronicle by Gallus Anonymous (whom he falsely considered to be a Pole) and the Chronicle by Wincenty Kadłubek.
