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Jacob Paul Freiherr von Gundling was a German historian and scholar who served as the Court Historiographer to King Frederick I of Prussia. Gundling was well-regarded in his early career for his intellectual accomplishments and administrative roles, including the presidency of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. However, he is most famously remembered as a figure of ridicule in the Tobacco Cabinet, a drinking circle of King Frederick William I, the "Soldier King."
Born to a Protestant pastor, Gundling attended the Pforta county school in Naumburg and later studied law and history at the universities of Altdorf, Helmstedt, Jena, and Halle. By 1699 he was accompanying the Nuremberg patrician Jacobus von Tetzell on diplomatic travels to Holland and England. In 1705, King Frederick I appointed him as a professor at the Berlin Knights' Academy and, later, historian at the Chief Herald's Office, responsible for verifying genealogical credentials of the Prussian nobility.
Gundling thrived under Frederick I’s patronage, gaining privileges that included accompanying the king to court and providing intellectual discourse on contemporary matters. In addition to his teaching and historical writing, Gundling contributed to significant state projects such as the mapping of Prussia and the establishment of a systematic Prussian school curriculum. His scholarship extended to detailed regional histories, including the Brandenburg Atlas, completed in 1724, and biographical works on figures such as Albrecht the Bear, the first Margrave of Brandenburg.
Gundling’s fortunes changed drastically under Frederick I’s successor, Frederick William I. The Soldier King, disdainful of his father’s cultured ways, abolished the Knights' Academy and relegated Gundling to a role akin to court jester in the Tobacco Cabinet. This informal society of military officers and courtiers indulged in drinking, debates, and cruel practical jokes, with Gundling often their target. Gundling retained formal positions of influence, including serving as Privy Councillor and President of the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
