Wolff [Wolf], Christian

Born: Breslau, (Wroclaw, Poland), 24 January 1679

Died: Halle, (Germany), 9 April 1754

Christian Wolff was educated in his home town of Breslau and then at the Universities of Jena and Leipzig. On the recommendation of his mentor, Gottfried Leibnitz, Wolff was appointed professor of mathematics at the University of Halle in 1706. There he quickly became known as a Leibnitzian philosopher.

After conflicts with Lutheran Pietists, Wolff was banished in 1721. He then obtained a position at the University of Marburg (1723) until recalled to Halle by Frederick the Great (1740). Eventually Wolff became chancellor of the University of Halle (1743).

In astronomy, Wolff often has been lampooned for his overly pluralistic physical description of life on the planet Jupiter: