Family Name: Leske
First Name: Nathanael
Birth Date: Thu, Oct 21, 1751
Birth Place: Muskau
Death Date: Fri, Nov 24, 1786
Death Place: Marburg
Main places of activity:
Place From
Leipzig 1768
Personal info:
Education

Leske received his early education from his mother and his father, a minister of the Protestant church in Muskau. From 1765 to 1769, Leske attended the Gymnasium in Bautzen. Some sources suggest his studies continued at the Bergakademie in Freiburg first and at the Francke Foundation in Halle afterwards, before moving to Leipzig in 1775 as professor of natural history. However, other sources state he attended university in Leipzig from 1769, studying medicine, philosophy, economy and especially natural history under the guidance of Christian Gottlieb Ludwig. He graduated in 1774.
Career

From 1775 to 1778, Leske became Extraordinary Professor of natural history at the Leipzig University. In 1778, he was appointed Ordinary Professor of economy.

After being denied the chair of physics in 1786, he decided to accept an offer form Marburg University to teach financial sciences (Kameralwisseschaften), but died of a fatal accident on the way to Marburg. ALthough he was still very young when he died, Leske was a member of almost all the European scientific societies of the time.
Translations Other Works

translations activities

Leske translated from Italian, English and French, focusing on mineralogy and natural history.

secondary bibliography references

C. P. Loeper, Etwas zur Lebensgeschichte des Herrn Nathanael Gottfried Leske, Leipzig 1787.

W. Andert and H. Prescher, "Nathanael Gottfried Leske (1751-1786). Zum 225 Geburtstag des ersten Erforschers der Naturkunde und Ökonomie der Oberlausitz und Theoretikers der Landwirtschaft", Sächsische Heimatblätter, 23, 1977, pp. 73-89.

Translations

  • Mineralogia, eller mineralriket indelt och beskrifvet

  • Translation Title: Mineralsystem : worin die Fossilien nach Klassen, Abtheilungen, Gattungen, Arten und Spielarten angeordnet, beschrieben und durch Beobachtungen, Versuche und Abbildungen erläutert werden
  • Original Author: Johan Gottschalk Wallerius
  • Original title: Mineralogia, eller mineralriket indelt och beskrifvet
  • Publ. Year From: 1746 to:
  • lang: Swedish
  • Translation: Mineralsystem : worin die Fossilien nach Klassen, Abtheilungen, Gattungen, Arten und Spielarten angeordnet, beschrieben und durch Beobachtungen, Versuche und Abbildungen erläutert werden
  • N° Editions: 2
  • Pub. Place: Berlin
  • Pub. Date: 1780
  • Lang: German
  • Note:

    Leske took part in this translation, also it is not clear which source he and Hebenstreit used.

  • Storia Naturale di Sardegna

  • Translation Title: Des Herrn Francesco Cetti Naturgeschichte von Sardinien
  • Original Author: Francesco Cetti
  • Original title: Storia Naturale di Sardegna
  • Publ. Year From: 1773 to: 1777
  • lang: Italian
  • Translation: Des Herrn Francesco Cetti Naturgeschichte von Sardinien
  • N° Editions: 2
  • Pub. Place: Leipzig
  • Pub. Date: 1782
  • Lang: German

  • Éléments de minéralogie docimastique

  • Translation Title: Anfangsgründe der Mineralogie nach Grundsätzen der Probierkunst
  • Original Author: Balthazar Georges Sage
  • Original title: Éléments de minéralogie docimastique
  • Publ. Year From: 1771 to:
  • lang: French
  • Translation: Anfangsgründe der Mineralogie nach Grundsätzen der Probierkunst
  • Pub. Place: Leipzig
  • Pub. Date: 1774
  • Lang: German
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By:

  • Giovanni Lista