Moses Mendelssohn | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Anton Graff (1773) | |
| Born | 6 September 1729 Dessau, Anhalt-Dessau, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 4 January 1786 (aged 56) Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, Holy Roman Empire |
| Spouse |
Fromet Guggenheim (m. 1762) |
| Children | |
| Era | 18th-century philosophy |
Main interests | Metaphysics · Philosophy of religion |
| Signature | |
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Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729[note 1] – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the Haskalah, or 'Jewish Enlightenment' of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Born to a poor Jewish family in Dessau, Principality of Anhalt, and originally destined for a rabbinical career, Mendelssohn educated himself in German thought and literature. Through his writings on philosophy and religion he came to be regarded as a leading cultural figure of his time by both Christian and Jewish inhabitants of German-speaking Europe and beyond. His involvement in the Berlin textile industry formed the foundation of his family's wealth.
His descendants include the composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn; Felix's son, chemist Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy; Fanny's grandsons, Paul and Kurt Hensel; and the founders of the Mendelssohn & Co. banking house.
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