Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner (November 18, 1768 - January 17, 1823), German poet, dramatist and preacher, was born at Königsberg in Prussia. From his mother, who died a religious maniac, Werner inherited a weak and unbalanced nature, which his education did nothing to correct. At the university of his native place he studied law; but Rousseau and Rousseau's German disciples were the influences that shaped his view of life. For years he oscillated violently between aspirations towards the state of nature, which betrayed him into a series of rash and unhappy marriages, and a sentimental admirationin common with so many of the Romanticists for the Roman Catholic Church, which ended in 1811 in his conversion. Werner's talent was early recognized and obtained for him, in spite of his character, a small government post at Warsaw, which he exchanged afterwards for one at Berlin. In the course of his travels, and by correspondence, he got into touch with many of the men most eminent in literature at the time; and succeeded in having his plays put on the stage, where they met with much success. In 1814 he was ordained priest, and, exchanging the pen for the pulpit, became a popular preacher at Vienna, where, during the famous congress of 1814, his eloquent but fanatical sermons were listened to by crowded congregations. He died at Vienna January 17, 1823.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.