Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Gotthold E. Lessing in 1771

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (22 January 1729 in Kamenz (Saxony) – 15 February 1781 in Braunschweig) was a German poet and philosopher in the time of the enlightenment.

Life

Lessing was one of twelve children. His father was a Protestant priest. He went to school in Kamenz and got a stipendium for the Higher School in Meißen. From 1746 to 1748, he studied medicine and theology in Leipzig. In 1750, he moved to Berlin, where he met Voltaire. In 1752 he got the Magister (Master) degree from the university in Wittenberg.

He moved back to Leipzig in 1755, but returned later to Berlin. He traveled around in Europe and studied. He worked as a reporter. From 1760 to 1765, he worked as secretary for a general in Breslau (today: Wroclaw). Later he worked at the theater and became a librarian. Lessing got married in 1776. But 1778 his wife died.

In 1781, Lessing died.

Works

1747	Damon oder die wahre Freundschaft (Damon, or true friendship)
1748	Der junge Gelehrte (The young savant)
	Der Misogyn
	Die alte Jungfer (the old virgin)
1749	Die Juden (The Jews)
	Der Freigeist (The free spirit)
1750	Der Schatz (The Treasure)
1755	Miss Sara Sampson
1759	Fabeln (3 Bücher) (Fables, 3 books)
	Faust (Fragment) (Faust, a frament)
	Philotas
1766	Laokoon oder Über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie
1767	Minna von Barnhelm
	Hamburgische Dramaturgie (1767-1769)
1772	Emilia Galotti
1777	Das Testament Johannis
	Über den Beweis des Geistes und der Kraft
1778	Anti-Goeze
1779	Nathan der Weise
1780	Die Erziehung des Menschengeschlechts
1781	Die eheliche Liebe (Gedicht)
	Ernst und Falk - Gespräche für Freimaurer

Other websites

In German

• Fabeln von Lessing Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine im Literaturnetz
• Lessing-Akademie Wolfenbüttel
• Lessing-Museum in Kamenz
• Biographie
• Biographie in ADB
• Briefe, die Neueste Literatur betreffend
• Deutscher Bildungsserver: Pädagogische Materialien zu Gotthold Ephraim Lessing [1]
• Einführung in die Dramentheorie Lessings
• kostenlose Hörbuchabhandlung als MP3: Über die Wahrheit Archived 2006-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
• Das Lessing-Denkmal in Wolfenbüttel Archived 2007-02-19 at the Wayback Machine