Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 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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