Georg Adam Struve (27 September 1619 – 15 December 1692) was a German legal scholar, university professor of Jurisprudence and prolific author of legal texts.
Life
Provenance
Georg Adam Struve was born in Magdeburg, slightly more than a year after the outbreak of the war which in 1631 would come close to destroying the city. His father, Berthold Struve (1588–1650), was heir to the lands of Wanzleben and Möllenvoigt in the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. His mother, born Anna Margaretha Brunner (1598–1669), came originally from Schleusingen. Both parents came from long established families. His mother's ancestry included a number of prominent lawyers.
Early years
He received his early schooling at home, later moving on to junior school in Magdeburg. In October 1630, by now aged 11, he switched to the secondary school in nearby Schleusingen: the school was at that time under the direction of the noted education reformer Andreas Reyher. Thanks to wartime disruption, he would not return to his parents' home again till the first part of 1636, by which time – initially – his family did not recognise him. After a brief stay in his father's house in Magdeburg, he moved south to Jena where he enrolled at the university on 11 June 1636. At Jena he was supported by Prof. Fomann, who was a kinsman from his mother's side of the family. Other lecturers and tutors who taught him in the Philosophy faculty, at which he commenced his university studies, included Philipp Horst, Daniel Stahl, Johann Zeisold and Johann Michael Dilherr. By all accounts, he excelled academically, receiving a "cum laude" commendation for his dissertation supervised by Dilherr. He then switched his focus to the Jurisprudence faculty: here he was taught by Dominicus Arumaeus, Peter Theodericus, Erasmus Ungebaur and Ortholph Timann. During this period, war was never far away. As a Protestant from the north he was in constant danger from Catholic forces. News came through that his father's home at Wanzleben had been destroyed by Imperial troops. In December 1640, after more than four years away, he returned home to recuperate. During the first part of 1641 Struve moved on to the University of Helmstedt to pursue his university studies further. At Helmstedt Struve was influenced, in particular, by Hermann Conring, who introduced him to Politics and to the ancient origins of German Law. His other teachers at Helmstedt included the Protestant theologian Konrad Hornejus and the jurist Heinrich Hahn, in whose tutorial sessions he was sometimes permitted to explain and expand on Hahn's presentations and provide supplementary notes, in cases where fellow audience members had been left in need of further elucidation. Having completed his legal studies he concluded his student career with a dissertation entitled "de vindicta privata" (loosely, "on private retribution") and was awarded his "Academic Licence" by a committee chaired by his tutor, Heinrich Hahn.
Post-graduation
In April 1645, still aged only 25, he accepted a judicial chair (Schöffengerichte) in Halle from Prince August of Saxony (in his capacity as Prince-archbishop of Magdeburg). In February 1646 he received his doctorate in law, again from the University of Helmstedt. Six months later, on the recommendation of the faculty, he was offered and accepted the professorship of jurisprudence at Jena which had become vacant following the recent death of the respected jurist, Gottfried Fibig.
For the next forty-five years Struve pursued a twin track career, comprising both academic work at the university and his judicial duties, albeit in proportions that varied over time. A third parallel strand, involving government service, emerged only later. On 12 December 1646 he presented his dissertation "de privatis aedificiis" (loosely, "On private buildings"), which may have been a precondition for confirmation of his professorship. In his lectures it is reported that he attempted to replace the traditional "mind-numbing dictation of lecture notes" with a more lively presentational style. He also introduced references to contemporary judicial practice in real-life courts. He quickly attracted large numbers of students to his lectures, generating a certain amount of envy on the part of less gifted colleagues. Meanwhile, in June 1648, he was appointed to a higher judicial position, as an Assessor, at the District Court in Jena.
Anna Maria Richter
Later that year, on 6 November 1648, Georg Adam Struve married Anna Maria Richter (1634–62), the only daughter who survived to adulthood of Christoph Philipp Richter, long-standing dean of the Law Faculty at Jena. The marriage produced at least seven children: six sons and one daughter.