Professor of anatomy, botany, and surgery at the new University of Göttingen from 1736 to 1753, Haller is closely associated with the early histories of two of that university’s most important and durable institutions: the Göttingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen (GGA) and the Gesellschaft (Sozietät) der Wissenschaften (GdW). After he returned to Bern in 1753, his most important epistolary link with those institutions over the next seventeen years was his correspondence with Johann David Michaelis, a prominent orientalist and professor of philosophy at the university. Michaelis was director of the GGA for that entire period, as well as either secretary or director of the GdW for all but five of the years. In his 120 surviving letters, nearly all of which date from the years 1753–70, he kept Haller informed about all significant developments in the GdW and the GGA and sought his help, advice, or presidential decisions on a broad range of matters. In the process he touched on various ideas and controversies that engaged the learned world of the time. Not least, the letters reveal the vital role Michaelis played in the periodic efforts to bring Haller back to Göttingen. A persistent presence throughout is Gerlach Adolph von Münchhausen, the Hanoverian minister and watchful curator of the university.

This is a guest edition prepared by Otto Sonntag – and last updated in August 2024 – which philologically follows the editor's specific edition model. In contrast, the marking of the entities (persons, publications, institutions, places, and letters) adheres to the general guidelines of hallerNet (Konventionen Metadaten Version 2.1).