Georg Friedrich Sartorius since 1827 Freiherr von Waltershausen (1765-1828) was a German research historian and professor at Göttingen University.
Sartorius was born Kassel, where he attended gymnasium. Then he studied theology and also orientalism (read by Michaeli) in Göttingen. Later he changed to history and started working at the Library there. He was appointed as professor in history in 1802.
His mayor work was his monography Geschichte des Hanseatischen Bundes. (engl.: History of the Hanseatic League.) published in three volumes 1802-1808. His research on this topic was the first modern work on the Hanseatic League. A second edition prepared by him was published post mortem in 1830. He is also known as translator and popularizer of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. As an economist he held lectures on taxation. Goethe was Godparent of his second son, the geologist Wolfgang Sartorius von Waltershausen.
References
- F. Frensdorff: Georg Friedrich Sartorius in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, Vol. 30, p.390-394
