Person

Johann Caspar Lavater

1741–1801 · 18th century

Johann Caspar Lavater was a Swiss pastor, poet and writer from Zürich. His Essays on Physiognomy of 1775–1778, which claimed to read character from facial features, were famous across Europe and drew contributions from the young Goethe. A pastor of St. Peter's church in Zürich, he was deported for a time after protesting against the French occupation and died of a wound received in 1799.

Johann Caspar Lavater
Image: August Friedrich Oelenhainz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Canton of ZürichImpact

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Johann Caspar Lavater. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/johann-caspar-lavater
MLA
“Johann Caspar Lavater.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/johann-caspar-lavater. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Johann Caspar Lavater.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/johann-caspar-lavater.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Johann Caspar Lavater’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/johann-caspar-lavater (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻