He arrived at Copenhagen in 1743 and became a tutor to
Christian VI of Denmark and later
Frederick V of Denmark in the art of turning. From 1771 he was head of the Royal Art Chamber (Det Kongelige Kunstkammer), a position he held until his death in 1807. Among his works is "
Beskrivelse og Oplysning over den hindindtil lidet udarbeidede Sloegt af mangeskallede Konchylier som Linnaeus har kaldet Lepas
med tilfoiede nye og ubeskrevne Arter ", a treatise on shelled molluscs including many new species descriptions, of which six taxa are still valid. Spengler maintained a personal natural history collection, the
Museo Spengleriano. Spengler is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Southeast Asian turtle,
Geoemyda spengleri. He is also celebrated in the common name of the Spengler's freshwater mussel,
Margaritifera auricularia. ==Personal life==