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Johann Stephan Pütter

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Through Holy Roman Empire

Life

Johann Stephan Pütter was born to a merchant from Iserlohn, with his mother coming from the Varnhagen family of pastors from the same town. He received his only pre-university education at home from a local priest, learning Latin, ancient Greek, Hebrew, Chaldaean and Syriac and so almost becoming an orientalist. Instead, however, on his father's death, he followed family tradition and went into law.

Pütter began his legal studies aged nearly 13 at the University of Marburg under tutors who included Christian Wolff. In 1739 he joined the University of Halle, where he became friends with Gottfried Achenwall, and completed his legal studies at the University of Jena. In 1744 he habilitated at Marburg and in 1746 he was appointed associate professor of law at University of Göttingen, where he remained until his death, not least thanks to the advocacy and protection of David Georg Strube. This was despite many requests from other universities – he even turned down offers to become a minister in the electorate of Hanover, a member of the 'Reichshofrat' in Vienna or a law-reformer in St Petersburg. However, he did serve three times (1764, 1790 and 1794) as the electorate of Hanover's representative at the Imperial elections in Frankfurt (Hanover then being in personal union with the king of England).

According to Achenwall, Pütter was established in 1743 as a member of the Masonic lodge named "Zu den drey Löwen" in Marburg.

The Pütterstraße in Iserlohn's city centre is named after him.

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