Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig

Who was Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig?

Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig was a German entomologist and wargame designer.

After studies of mathematics and natural history at the university of Frankfurt, he became, in 1766, adviser to prince Wilhelm Adolf von Braunschweig at the time of his voyage in the south of Russia.

In 1771, he taught in two colleges of Brunswick then he became professor of philosophy of the university of Helmstadt. In 1790, he taught mathematics and natural science at the military academy of Braunschweig, where famously he was the "Master of Pages". His attempts to instruct the young in military sciences inspired his work on wargames.

He exerted a great influence on his pupils. He was the tutor and the father-in-law of the German entomologist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger, who became director of the zoological garden of Berlin, of the mineralogist Gottlieb Peter Sillem and the count Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg.

His work in the taxonomy of the insects in collaboration with Illiger and Hoffmannsegg is famous and was the entomological origin of the collections of the University of Berlin.