12 Facts About Johannes Sturm

Johannes Sturm was a German educator and Protestant reformer, who was influential in the design of the gymnasium system of secondary education.

Johannes Sturm participated in the attempt to reconcile Protestant and Roman Catholic parties in 1534.

At the urging of Bucer and the unrelated statesman Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck, Sturm accepted a call to teach in Strassburg in 1537, and in 1538 he set up the Protestant gymnasium, the Schola Argentoratensis, there, which provided the model for the modern German gymnasium.

Johannes Sturm directed the school for 43 years, and the school attained a wide celebrity, becoming an influential model for humanistic gymnasia especially in Germany.

Johannes Sturm undertook diplomatic missions on behalf of Strassburg, the Protestant estates and the king of France.

Johannes Sturm attended the conferences at Hagenau and Worms in 1540, and at Regensburg in 1541; and went with Bucer to meet the elector of Cologne, in 1542.

Johannes Sturm was often asked to advise on the creation or reform of schools, among others the gymnasium at Lauingen.

Johannes Sturm's influence is seen in the school regulations of Wurttemberg, Brunswick, and Saxony.

Johannes Sturm upheld the broader views of Bucer, and was influenced by his Biblical and Renaissance humanistic views towards a non-dogmatic Christianity.

Johannes Sturm was relieved of his position in 1581 and retired to Northeim.

Johannes Sturm was generally regarded as the greatest educator connected with the Reformed Church.

Johannes Sturm implemented a gradation of the course of study, and novel methods of instruction.