Paul Luther

Paul Luther
Paul Luther, contemporary wood engraving
Born	(1533-01-28)28 January 1533 Wittenberg
Died	8 March 1593(1593-03-08) (aged 60) Leipzig
Alma mater	University of Wittenberg
Occupation	Physician, medical chemist, and alchemist
Spouse(s)	Anna Warbeck
Children	Paul Luther Margarethe Gottsteig Johannes Ernst Luther Johannes Friedrich Luther Anna, Freifrau Marschall von Bieberstein Johannes Joachim Luther
Parent(s)	Martin Luther Katharina von Bora

Paul Luther (28 January 1533 – 8 March 1593) was a German physician, medical chemist, and alchemist. He was the third son of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther and was successively physician to John Frederick II, Duke of Saxony; Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg; Augustus, Elector of Saxony and his successor Christian I. He taught alchemy to Anne of Denmark.

Born at Wittenberg, the third son of Martin Luther by his marriage to Katharina von Bora, Luther was named after Saint Paul the Apostle and proved such an energetic child that his father said of him, "He is destined to fight against the Turks." The boy's education began with the study of Greek and Latin under Philip Melanchthon and Veit Winsheim.

In 1546, when Luther was thirteen, his father died, leaving the family in straitened circumstances without Luther's salaries. At the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, they fled to Magdeburg and in 1547 to Brunswick. In July, at the end of the war, it was possible to return to Wittenberg, although in relative poverty. On the advice of Melanchthon, Luther attended the University of Wittenberg to study medicine.

In September 1552, an outbreak of the Bubonic plague forced the Luther family to leave their home once again. They fled to Torgau, travelling in a cart which overturned near the city gates, seriously injuring Luther's mother. She died there on 20 December 1552. While in Torgau, on 5 February 1553, at the age of twenty, Luther married Anna, daughter of the translator Veit Warbeck (c. 1490–1534).