Paul Luther
Luther, contemporary wood engraving
Born	19 November 1533 Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony,Holy Roman Empire
Died	8 March 1593(1593-03-08) (aged 60) Leipzig, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
Alma mater	University of Wittenberg
Occupations	Physician medical chemist alchemist
Spouse	Anna Warbeck
Children	6
Parents	Martin Luther Katharina von Bora
Family	Luther

Paul Luther (19 November 1533 – 8 March 1593)^[1] was a German physician, medical chemist, andalchemist.^[2] He was the third son of the GermanProtestant ReformerMartin Luther and was successively physician toJohn Frederick II, Duke of Saxony;Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg;Augustus, Elector of Saxony and his successorChristian I, Elector of Saxony. He taught alchemy toAnne of Denmark.

Born atWittenberg, the third son of Martin Luther by his marriage toKatharina von Bora, Luther was named afterSaint Paul the Apostle and proved such an energetic child that his father said of him, "He is destined to fight against the Turks." The boy's education began with the study ofGreek andLatin underPhilip Melanchthon and Veit Winsheim.^[3]

In 1546, when Luther was thirteen, his father died, leaving the family in straitened circumstances without Luther's salaries. At the outbreak of theSchmalkaldic War, they fled toMagdeburg and in 1547 toBrunswick. In July, at the end of the war, it was possible to return to Wittenberg, although in relative poverty. On the advice of Melanchthon, Luther attended theUniversity of Wittenberg to study medicine.^[3]

In September 1552, an outbreak of thebubonic plague forced the Luther family to leave their home once again. They fled toTorgau, travelling in a cart which overturned near the city gates, seriously injuring Luther's mother. She died there on 20 December 1552. While in Torgau, on 5 February 1553, at the age of twenty, Luther married Anna, daughter of the translatorVeit Warbeck (c. 1490–1534).^[4]

Returning to Wittenberg, Luther completed his medical studies and on 29 July 1557 gained the degree ofDoctor of Medicine.^[3]

He turned down an offer to teach at theUniversity of Jena because of his objections to the theology ofVictorinus Strigel, a leading academic there. In religion, Luther was an enthusiasticLutheran and zealously defended his father's teachings.^[3]

Luther took up a career as aphysician. He became the personal physician ofJohn Frederick II, Duke of Saxony, remaining atGotha until the surrender of the city on 13 April 1567, toAugustus, Elector of Saxony. He was then in practice at the court ofJoachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg until his death on 3 January 1571, and was subsequently physician to Augustus, Elector of Saxony, and his successor,Christian I, atDresden. In 1590 he retired and took up residence atLeipzig.^[3]

Luther was also distinguished as a chemist^[3] and developed several drugs, such asUnguentum ex nitro,Magistrum perlarum,Magistrum collorum, andAurum potabile, which were produced by the pharmacies ofSaxony. He was interested inalchemy, the ultimate goal of which was the production ofgold, and has been claimed as the most significant instructor of the amateur alchemistAnne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony.^[2]

Luther died at Leipzig on 8 March 1593. His funeral oration was given by his friend Matthias Dresser.^[5]

While still a medical student at Wittenberg, Luther had married Anna Warbeck.^[4] They were married for thirty-three years, until Anna's death atDresden on 15 May 1586.^[6] From this marriage there were six children:^[4]

• Paul Luther (1553–1558)
• Margarethe Luther (1555–1597), who marriedSimon Gottsteig^[4]
• Johannes Ernst Luther (1560–1637), who became canon ofZeitz. Through him, the male line of the Luther family continued until 1759.^[4]
• Johannes Friedrich Luther (1562–1599)
• Anna Luther (1564–1596), who married in Oberschaar Nicolaus Freiherr Marschall von Bieberstein
• Johannes Joachim Luther (1569–1600)

• Oratio de arte medica et cura tuendae valetudinis (published posthumously atBreslau, 1598)^[7]

• Matthias Dresser,De vita et morte D. Pauli Lutheri medici (Leipzig, 1593)

• 'Luther, Paul', inAllgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 19 (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1884), pp. 692–694:online text from Wikisource (inGerman)
• Christoph Werner: Paulus Luther. Sein Leben von ihm selbst aufgeschrieben; Wahrhaftiger Roman. Bertuch, Weimar 2015,ISBN 978-3-86397-051-2.
• Christoph Werner: Shadows of My Father. The Memoirs of Martin Luther's Son. A Novel. HarperCollins, New York 2017,ISBN 978-0-06-284652-5.

• 1533 births
• 1593 deaths
• German alchemists
• 16th-century German physicians
• 16th-century German scientists
• 16th-century chemists
• German chemists
• Scientists from Wittenberg
• University of Wittenberg alumni
• Family of Martin Luther
• 16th-century German writers
• 16th-century German male writers
• 16th-century alchemists

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