John Bruckner
Encyclopedia
John Bruckner (1726–1804) was a Dutch Lutheran minister and author, who settled in Norwich
, England.
. He was educated for the ministry, mainly at the University of Franeker
, where he studied Greek under Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer
; and held a charge at Leyden.
In 1752 an elder of the Norwich Walloon
church that leased the church of St. Mary the Less, seeking a successor to Michel Olivier Vallotton as pastor, recruited Bruckner, who could preach in Latin, Dutch, French, and English; and he came in Norwich in 1753. In addition to his duties at St. Mary the Less, he succeeded Dr. van Sarn, about 1766, as pastor of the Norwich Dutch church who used the choir of the church of St. John the Baptist. These duties were light, and lessened. Bruckner held the joint charge till his death, and was the last regular minister of either church.
He taught French, Amelia Opie
being among his pupils, and acted as organist. He also took part in the Norwich literary circle.
He committed suicide, while suffering from depression, on Saturday, 12 May 1804. He was buried at Guist
, near Foulsham
, Norfolk
. He had married in 1782 Miss Cooper of Guist, a former pupil, who predeceased him. John Opie
painted his portrait, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy
in 1800; one of Amelia Opie's ‘Lays’ is about this portrait.
; it commented on animal populations, from the attitude of natural theology
. In chapters VII and X there is an anticipation of Thomas Malthus
's views, and Loren Eiseley
took Bruckner as the immediate forerunner of Malthus. This work was translated within two years into English by Thomas Cogan
; and into German by Christian Garve
. Bruckner's ideas were taken from Montesquieu and Buffon
, as well as general reading; they were noticed by Karl Marx
as the beginnings of modern "population theory". Bruckner is also noted as an early proponent of the food web
concept.
Other works were:
He began a didactic poem in French verse, intended to popularise the views of his ‘Théorie.’ Lines on his own wrinkled and ‘lugubre’ countenance are in Amelia Opie's ‘Life.’
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England.
Life
He was born on 31 December 1726 at Kadzand, then a small island in ZeelandZeeland
Zeeland , also called Zealand in English, is the westernmost province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about...
. He was educated for the ministry, mainly at the University of Franeker
University of Franeker
The University of Franeker was a university in Franeker, Friesland, presently part of the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University....
, where he studied Greek under Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer
Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer
Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer was a Dutch classical scholar, at Leiden. He was a follower of Tiberius Hemsterhuis, and his successor in 1766 in the chair of Greek at Leiden. He was born in Leeuwarden....
; and held a charge at Leyden.
In 1752 an elder of the Norwich Walloon
Walloon
Wallon may refer to:*Henri-Alexandre Wallon , a French historian and statesman*Henri Wallon , a psychologist and grandson of Henri-Alexandre Wallon...
church that leased the church of St. Mary the Less, seeking a successor to Michel Olivier Vallotton as pastor, recruited Bruckner, who could preach in Latin, Dutch, French, and English; and he came in Norwich in 1753. In addition to his duties at St. Mary the Less, he succeeded Dr. van Sarn, about 1766, as pastor of the Norwich Dutch church who used the choir of the church of St. John the Baptist. These duties were light, and lessened. Bruckner held the joint charge till his death, and was the last regular minister of either church.
He taught French, Amelia Opie
Amelia Opie
Amelia Opie, née Alderson , was an English author who published numerous novels in the Romantic Period of the early 19th century, through 1828.-Life and work:...
being among his pupils, and acted as organist. He also took part in the Norwich literary circle.
He committed suicide, while suffering from depression, on Saturday, 12 May 1804. He was buried at Guist
Guist
Guist is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 242 in 102 households as of the 2001 census. For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of Breckland....
, near Foulsham
Foulsham
This article is about the place. For the publishing company see W. Foulsham & Company Limited.Foulsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The Village is miles west south west of Cromer, miles north west of Norwich and miles north east of London. The village lies...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. He had married in 1782 Miss Cooper of Guist, a former pupil, who predeceased him. John Opie
John Opie
John Opie was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, most notably in the artistic and literary professions.-Life and work:...
painted his portrait, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1800; one of Amelia Opie's ‘Lays’ is about this portrait.
Works
Bruckner wrote Théorie du Système Animal, Leyden, 1767 (anon.), a work now referenced in terms of the history of ecologyEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
; it commented on animal populations, from the attitude of natural theology
Natural theology
Natural theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience. Thus it is distinguished from revealed theology which is based on scripture and religious experiences of various kinds; and also from transcendental theology, theology from a priori reasoning.Marcus Terentius Varro ...
. In chapters VII and X there is an anticipation of Thomas Malthus
Thomas Malthus
The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus FRS was an English scholar, influential in political economy and demography. Malthus popularized the economic theory of rent....
's views, and Loren Eiseley
Loren Eiseley
Loren Eiseley was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s. During this period he received more than 36 honorary degrees and was a fellow of many distinguished professional societies...
took Bruckner as the immediate forerunner of Malthus. This work was translated within two years into English by Thomas Cogan
Thomas Cogan
Thomas Cogan was an English nonconformist physician, a founder of the Royal Humane Society and philosophical writer.-Life:He was born at Rothwell, Northamptonshire on 8 February 1736, the half-brother of Eliezer Cogan...
; and into German by Christian Garve
Christian Garve
Christian Garve was one of the best-known philosophers of the late Enlightenment along with Immanuel Kant and Moses Mendelssohn.-Life:...
. Bruckner's ideas were taken from Montesquieu and Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
, as well as general reading; they were noticed by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
as the beginnings of modern "population theory". Bruckner is also noted as an early proponent of the food web
Food web
A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...
concept.
Other works were:
- ‘Criticisms on the Diversions of Purley. By John Cassander,’ 1790. John Horne TookeJohn Horne TookeJohn Horne Tooke was an English politician and philologist.-Early life and work:He was born in Newport Street, Long Acre, Westminster, the third son of John Horne, a poulterer in Newport Market. As a youth at Eton College, Tooke described his father to friends as a "turkey merchant"...
replied in his edition of 1798. Bruckner's views derived from Albert SchultensAlbert Schultens-Biography:He was born at Groningen, where he studied for the church. He went on to the University of Leiden, applying himself specially to Hebrew and the cognate tongues. His dissertation on The Use of Arabic in the Interpretation of Scripture appeared in 1706...
and Tiberius HemsterhuisTiberius HemsterhuisTiberius Hemsterhuis was a Dutch philologist and critic.-Life:He was born in Groningen. His father, a learned physician, gave him a good early education and he entered the university of his native city in his fifteenth year, where he proved himself the best student of mathematics...
. Richard TaylorRichard Taylor (editor)Richard Taylor was an English naturalist and publisher of scientific journals. He became joint editor of the Philosophical Magazine in 1822 and went of to publish the Annals of Natural History in 1838. He edited and published Scientific Memoirs, Selected from the Transactions of Foreign Academies...
included information on Bruckner in his 1829 edition of the Diversions. - ‘Thoughts on Public Worship,’ 1792; in reply to Gilbert WakefieldGilbert WakefieldGilbert Wakefield was an English scholar and controversialist.Gilbert Wakefield was the third son of the Rev. George Wakefield, then rector of St Nicholas' Church, Nottingham but afterwards at Kingston-upon-Thames. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. as second...
's ‘Enquiry into the Expediency and Propriety of Public or Social Worship,’ 1791. In his preface Bruckner promises a continuation.
He began a didactic poem in French verse, intended to popularise the views of his ‘Théorie.’ Lines on his own wrinkled and ‘lugubre’ countenance are in Amelia Opie's ‘Life.’