Peter Gabriel van Ghert

Peter Gabriel van Ghert (1782–1852) came from the Netherlands, studied in Jena around 1800, and became one of Hegel’s earliest students. Since his German was not adequate, Hegel tutored him privately.

The tutoring grew into a lifelong friendship. Van Ghert returned to the Netherlands, became a civil servant there, and ensured that Hegel’s philosophy became known beyond the German borders at an early date — the Dutch reception of Hegel began with him.