Albrecht von Haller
Born in Berne, 16 October 1708. Died in Berne, 12 December 1777.
Married to Mariane Wyss (1711-1736), Elisabeth Bucher (1711-1740), Sophie
A. C. Teichmeyer (1722-1795)
Haller had eleven children and was therefore responsible for a large family. One of his duties was to arrange the marriage of his daughter Marianne. In the Ancien RÈgime, marriage was an extremely subtle undertaking. Its success depended on elaborate and discreet communication. The objective was a high one: people sought the ideal balance between the feelings of the lovers and the considerations of family politics.
Marriage negotiations were normally conducted in person. But in the years around 1750, the Haller family was living in Gˆttingen. Albrecht von Haller therefore arranged his daughter's marriage by post. These long-distance conversations by letter enabled him to meet the necessary social requirements from a distance.
Today: TV as mediator
Haller appreciated the value of discretion where his daughter's marriage
was concerned. The letter appeared to be the ideal medium for this. The
Bernese public were all the more greedy for details, when private affairs
became known. And how do we react to public flirting on the screen in
"Swiss-Date", "SMS ñ ich liebe dich" (Tele
24) and "Herzblatt" (ARD)?
Haller website
Wide-ranging information about the life and work of the universal scholar
can be found on the website of the Albrecht von Haller research project.
