Johann Friedrich Struensee
Danish physician, philosopher and statesman (1737–1772)
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Key Takeaways
- Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman.
- He rose in power to a position of de facto regent of the country, and he tried to carry out widespread reforms.
- Upbringing and early career Born at Halle an der Saale and baptized at St.
- The elder Struensee attended the University of Halle and served in a number of pastoral postings before being appointed Royal General Superintendent of Schleswig and Holstein between 1760 and 1791.
- Three of the Struensee sons went to University, but none became theologians like their father; two of the daughters married ministers.
Lensgreve Johann Friedrich Struensee (5 August 1737 – 28 April 1772) was a German-Danish physician, philosopher and statesman. He became royal physician to the mentally ill King Christian VII of Denmark-Norway and a minister in the Danish government. He rose in power to a position of de facto regent of the country, and he tried to carry out widespread reforms. His affair with Queen Caroline Matilda ("Caroline Mathilde") caused a scandal, especially after the birth of a daughter, Princess Louise Augusta, and was the catalyst for the intrigues and power play that caused his downfall and dramatic death.
Upbringing and early career
Born at Halle an der Saale and baptized at St. Moritz on 7 August 1737, Struensee was the third child of six born to Pietist theologian and minister Adam Struensee (baptized in Neuruppin on 8 September 1708 – Rendsburg, 20 June 1791) and his wife Maria Dorothea Carl (Berleburg, 31 July 1716 – Schleswig, 31 December 1792). The elder Struensee attended the University of Halle and served in a number of pastoral postings before being appointed Royal General Superintendent of Schleswig and Holstein between 1760 and 1791. The Struensees were a respectable middle-class family that believed in religious tolerance. Three of the Struensee sons went to University, but none became theologians like their father; two of the daughters married ministers.
Johann Friedrich entered the University of Halle on 5 August 1752 at the age of fifteen where he studied medicine, and graduated as a Doctor in Medicine ("Dr. Med.") on 12 December 1757. The university exposed him to Age of Enlightenment ideals, and social and political critique and reform. He supported these new ideas, becoming a proponent of atheism, the writings of Claude Adrien Helvétius, and other French materialists.
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