Göttingen Seven

The Göttingen Seven (German: Göttinger Sieben) were a group of seven professors from Göttingen. In 1837, they protested against the abolition or alteration of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover by Ernest Augustus and refused to swear an oath to the new king of Hanover. The company of seven was led by Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, who himself was one of the key advocates of the unadulterated constitution. The other six were the Germanist brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (famed fairy tale and folk tale writers and storytellers, known together as the Brothers Grimm), jurist Wilhelm Eduard Albrecht, historian Georg Gottfried Gervinus, physicist Wilhelm Eduard Weber, and theologian and orientalist Heinrich Georg August Ewald.

The constitution that Ernst Augustus opposed came into effect in 1833, while the King was still heir presumptive to the Hanoverian throne. Historian and politician Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann contested Ernest Augustus' plans to change the constitution to his liking, as Dahlman himself had contributed to the constitution's framing. Additionally, Dahlmann existed as the representative of the University of Göttingen, in the second chamber of the noble court.

The death of King William IV on June 20, 1837 had a great impact on Hanover's political positioning, relations, and union with the group of constitutional states in the German Confederation. With William's death, the personal union ended between Hanover and the United Kingdom, and William's brother (Ernest Augustus) took over as ruler of the kingdom of Hanover. Augustus' niece Victoria acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom, but could not inherit Hanover due to the provision of Salic Law in force in Hanover, which barred females from ruling.

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