Anton Wilhelm Amo was a Nzema philosopher from Axim, in the Dutch Gold Coast in what is now Ghana, born around 1703 and died around 1759. Brought to Germany by the Dutch West India Company in 1707, he was presented to Dukes Augustus William and Ludwig Rudolf of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel and treated as a member of the family by their father, Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, before becoming a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena after studying at Halle himself. In 2020 Oxford University Press published an English translation of his philosophical works, originally written in Latin in the early 1730s.
Facts
Defining MomentSourced to the subject's own accountOne of the first Africans to earn a doctorate in Europe and hold a university teaching post, during the German Enlightenment. 1 Notable PublicationSourced to the subject's own accountDissertatio inauguralis philosophica de humanae mentis apatheia (1734); Tractatus de arte sobrie et accurate philosophandi (1738) 1 Office HeldSourced to the subject's own accountProfessor of philosophy, University of Jena (from 1740); earlier taught at the University of Halle 1 BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountAxim, Dutch Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) 1 TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountGerman Enlightenment academic philosophy; early Africana philosophy 1 Disputed
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own accountSources give an approximate, not exact, birth year. Death YearSourced to the subject's own accountExact death date not established; scholarship gives an approximate year and place. Death PlaceShama, Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) 1 Sourced to the subject's own accountProbable rather than confirmed location. Classification
NationalitySourced to the subject's own account In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Netherlands, originated there.
Sources
1. Anton Wilhelm Amo (Wikipedia)
Wikipedialater life section
he probably died in about 1759 at the fort in Shama in Ghana.
academic career section
was a professor at the universities of Halle and Jena in Germany
works section
Dissertatio inauguralis philosophica de humanae mentis apatheia
lead paragraph
Anton Wilhelm Amo (c. 1703 - c. 1759) was a Nzema philosopher from Axim, Dutch Gold Coast then within what was broadly considered the region of Guinea (the area is now in Ghana).
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