Joseph von Sonnenfels

Joseph von Sonnenfels (1732, Nikolsburg/Mikulov, Moravia – April 25, 1817, Vienna) was an Austrian and German jurist and novelist He is a son of Perlin Lipmann (1705 - 1768), and brother of Franz Anton von Sonnenfels. Joseph, who was baptized in his early youth, received his elementary education at the gymnasium of his native town Nikolsburg, and then studied philosophy at the University of Vienna. In 1749, he joined the regiment "Deutschmeister"... more

Joseph von Sonnenfels (1732, Nikolsburg/Mikulov, Moravia – April 25, 1817, Vienna) was an Austrian and German jurist and novelist He is a son of Perlin Lipmann (1705 - 1768), and brother of Franz Anton von Sonnenfels. Joseph, who was baptized in his early youth, received his elementary education at the gymnasium of his native town Nikolsburg, and then studied philosophy at the University of Vienna. In 1749, he joined the regiment "Deutschmeister" as a private, advancing to the rank of corporal. On his discharge in 1754, he took a course in law at the University of Vienna, then he established himself as a counselor at law in the Austrian capital. From 1761 to 1763, he officiated as secretary of the Austrian "Arcierengarde". In 1763, he was appointed professor of political science at the University of Vienna, twice acting as rector magnificus. In 1779, he received the title of "Wirklicher Hofrath", and was in 1810 elected president of the Academy of Sciences, a position which he held... less