Introduction

Biography

Johann was the son of Dr. Jo­hann Fried­rich Schlegel, Ap­pel­la­tions­rath at Meis­sen.

He at­tend­ed school in Pfor­ta (near Naum­burg), then at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Leip­zig, where he be­came ac­quaint­ed with Cra­mer, Gel­lert, and Klop­stock. While there, he was one of the prin­ci­pal con­trib­ut­ors to the po­pu­lar li­ter­ary journal Neu Bey­träge zum Verg­nü­gen des Ver­stand­es und Witz­es.

In 1746, he be­came a pri­vate tu­tor at Streh­la, Sax­ony, then re­turned to Leip­zig, where he oc­cu­pied him­self in li­ter­ary work.

In 1748, he went to live with his friend Cra­mer in Crell­witz, near Lütz­en. He stayed at Crell­witz un­til 1751, when he was ap­point­ed a mas­ter in his old school at Pfor­ta, and al­so di­a­co­nus of the church there.

In 1754, he became chief pas­tor of the Ho­ly Tri­ni­ty Church in Zerbst, and pro­fess­or of Theo­lo­gy and Me­ta­phys­ics in the Ac­a­dem­ic Gym­na­si­um of that town.

He moved to Ha­no­ver in 1759 to be­come pas­tor of the Markt Kirche. In 1775, he moved to the Neus­tadt Church there as chief pas­tor, and also as Con­sis­to­ri­al­rath and Su­per­in­ten­dent. While keep­ing his pas­tor­ate in Ha­no­ver, he was ap­point­ed, in 1782, as Ge­ne­ral Su­per­in­ten­dent of the dis­trict of Ho­ya.

In 1787 he ex­changed this for the post of Ge­ne­ral Su­per­in­ten­dent of the Prin­ci­pa­li­ty of Kal­en­berg.

The same year he re­ceived a DD de­gree at the Ju­bi­lee Fes­ti­val of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Gött­ing­en.

The li­ter­ary world bet­ter re­mem­bers his sons, Au­gust Wil­helm and Fried­rich von Schle­gel.