Gottfried Lengnich

Gottfried Lengnich (Polish: Gotfryd Lengnich) (4 December 1689 – 28 April 1774) was an 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 merchant in Danzig (Gdańsk). Initially studying at the local college of the St. Mary's church, he was sent to Mewe (Gniew) to study the Polish language at the age of 13 before returning to Danzig to study at the Academic Gymnasium. In 1710 he went to the University of Halle, at that time a part of the Electorate of 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 Danzig law and of the law of Royal Prussia and Poland, to find out whether us Prussians ... are the Poles ' equal brothers or their servants.

In 1718 he started the Polonische Bibliothek issued in the 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.

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