Wachler studied theology from 1784 at the
University of Jena, but due to consequences stemming from a
duel, he was forced to leave Jena, and subsequently relocated to the
University of Göttingen, where he became a student of
philology. At Göttingen he was a pupil of
Christian Gottlob Heyne,
Ludwig Timotheus Spittler and
Johann Christoph Gatterer. In 1788, Wachler became an associate professor at
Rinteln, where he gave lectures in philology and
church history. In 1790 he was named
rector at the gymnasium in
Herford, and four years later returned to Rinteln as a professor of theology. In 1797 he succeeded
Johann Matthäus Hassencamp as editor of the magazine, "
Annalen der neuesten theologischen Litteratur und Kirchengeschichte" (since 1798 known as the "
Neuen theologischen Annalen"). In 1801, Wachler was appointed professor of
philosophy at the
University of Marburg, where he later attained the chair of history and was also named a professor of theology. In 1815 he was appointed chair of history at the
University of Breslau. == Selected works ==