Family, education and career His father, Johann Heinrich Waldeck, was a
professor of law in Münster. His mother, Gertrudis Lindenkampf, came from a
Westphalian
patrician family. Waldeck attended the
Gymnasium Paulinum in Münster, finishing his schooling in 1817. Afterwards he attended philosophical lectures at the
University of Münster. He then began studying law at the
University of Göttingen in 1819. In 1822 he completed his studies in Göttingen with a doctorate at the age of only 19. After that he continued his legal training in Münster. In 1828, he passed the major state examination and was appointed
Assessor. He then began working as a judge in
Halberstadt,
Paderborn and
Vlotho. With her he had nine children, four of whom died young. In May 1849 he was arrested in Berlin for high treason, but was acquitted in December.
Sir John Retcliffe (real name: Hermann Goedsche) was centrally involved in a forgery scandal to discredit Waldeck and then lost his government position for his criminal participation. Despite his acquittal, Waldeck and other democrats were unable to remain politically active after the failed revolution under the government of
Otto Theodor von Manteuffel. However, he was able to retain his position as a judge at the Prussian Supreme Tribunal. ==Death and afterlife==