Jakob Fabricius

FABRICIUS, Jakob. b. Köslin, Pomerania (now Koszalin, Poland), 19 July 1593; d. Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), 11 August 1654. After school at Köslin and at the Prince’s school at Stettin, he studied philosophy and theology (including Hebrew) at Lübeck and Rostock. He became a teacher at Köslin, and then succeeded his father-in-law as diaconus, before being summoned by Duke Bogislaw IV to be Hofprediger (chief preacher) at Rügenwalde. He was awarded a Doctorate of Theology from the University of Greifswald in 1626. He latinized his name from Schmidt to Fabricius. In 1631, when passing through Rügenwalde, the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus, was so impressed by Fabricius’s preaching that he...