Jean-Philippe Baratier facts for kids
Jean-Philippe Baratier (born January 19, 1721, in Schwabach, Germany; died October 5, 1740) was an amazing German scholar. He was known as a child prodigy in the 1700s. A child prodigy is someone who is incredibly talented at a very young age. Jean-Philippe wrote eleven books and many other papers that were never published.
Life of a Young Genius
Early Learning and Languages
Jean-Philippe's father, François Baratier, was a Huguenot minister. He taught his son very carefully from a young age. Jean-Philippe learned incredibly fast.
By the time he was five years old, he could speak French, Latin, and Dutch easily. He could also read Greek very well. After that, he started studying Hebrew.
In just three years, he could translate the Hebrew Bible into Latin or French. He even started collecting notes for a dictionary of difficult Hebrew words. When he was about eleven, he translated a travel book called Itinerarium from Hebrew. This book was written by Benjamin of Tudela.
Amazing Achievements
At 14, Jean-Philippe Baratier earned a master's degree at Halle University. He also became a member of the Royal Academy in Berlin. At this time, he was working on a way to figure out longitude at sea. Longitude helps sailors know their exact position on the ocean.
In his last few years, he studied the history of the Jewish people. He also looked into ancient objects and translated many texts. He gathered information for books about the Thirty Years' War and Antitrinitarianism. He also planned to research ancient Egyptian history.
A Short Life
Jean-Philippe was always a bit weak and not very healthy. All his hard work made his health even worse. He passed away when he was only nineteen years old.
In 1741, a writer named Johann Heinrich Samuel Formey wrote a book about Jean-Philippe's life. It was published in Utrecht, Netherlands.
