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Ubbo Emmius (5 December 1547 – 9 December 1625) was a Germanhistorian andgeographer.
Ubbo Emmius was born on 5 December 1547 inGreetsiel,East Frisia. From the ages of 9 to 18 Emmius studied in a Latin school, before having to leave on the death of his father, aLutheran preacher. After studying atRostock, at the age of 30, Emmius took classes inGeneva withTheodorus Beza, aCalvinist who influenced Emmius greatly.[1][2]
Upon returning to East Friesland in 1579 he took the position of rector in the very school in which he was taught, the college atNorden. He was subsequently sacked by the local court in 1587 because, as aCalvinist, he would not subscribe to theconfession of Augsburg.[2] Following this, in 1588, the Calvinist count Johan offered him the position of rector in the Latin school ofLeer (later renamed theUbbo-Emmius-Gymnasium). Whilst remaining in Leer it is known that Emmius had corresponded with many other important people of the time who had fled fromGroningen after the area fell into the hands of the Spanish. WhenGroningen surrendered to Prince Maurits in 1594 those who fled returned and offered Ubbo the position of rector in St Maarten school.[citation needed] When in 1614 the decision was made to form a university, under the guidance of Emmius. As a result, he was chosen as the principal and professor of history and Greek and ultimately became the first rector magnificus of theAcademy in which he formed.[2]
Ubbo Emmius made prominent contributions to historiography. His primary works were on the History of theFrisian Territories: his 6 partRerum Frisicarum historiae decades from 1592 to 1616. In one of his other important works titled theChronologicum he compared the histories of different nations that used different calendars.
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Other works include:
An account of his life, written byNicholas Mulerius, was published, with the lives of other professors of Groningen, at Groningen in 1638.
Ubbo Emmius died on the 9 December 1625 in Groningen; his grave stone reads:
For the immortal memory of the famous and faithful old man Ubbo Emmius, a Frisian from Greetsiel, first rector of the academy, theologist of the pure doctrine, excellent philologist, perfect historian.
