Johann Jakob Moser (18 January 1701 – 30 September 1785) was a German jurist, publicist and researcher, whose work earned him the title "The Father of German Constitutional Law" and whose political commitment to the principles of Liberalism caused him to lose academic positions and spend years as a political prisoner. Moser was born and died in Stuttgart.
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Early life
Johann Jacob Moser was a member of the Moser family of Filseck, an old and respectable Württemberg family. They were devout Protestants with a history of service as civil servants to the Duchy of Württemberg. Moser's father, Johann Jacob Moser of Filseck, was born in 1660 in Stuttgart and died in 1716; his mother, Helene Catharine Moser (née Misler), was born in 1672 in Stade and died in 1741 in Stuttgart.
Although the younger Moser had six siblings, his parents managed to fund his pursuit of an academic career.
Career
After attending Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium, Moser studied state journalism at the University of Tübingen. His additional efforts at and success in independent learning enabled him to gain an appointment as professor of law at the same university at the early age of 18 or 19 years.
In 1721 Moser married Friederike Rosine Vischer, daughter of a Württembergian Upper Council President. Their oldest son, Friedrich Karl von Moser, was born on 18 December 1723 in Stuttgart, and became a jurist, political writer and a statesman.