Background
He was born in Jena, the son of chemist Johann Friedrich August Göttling (1753–1820).
He was born in Jena, the son of chemist Johann Friedrich August Göttling (1753–1820).
He attended the Wilhelm-Ernst-Gymnasium in Weimar, and then, beginning in 1811, studied philology at the universities of Jena and Berlin.
He volunteered in the war against France in 1814, and after the peace continued his studies at Berlin under Friedrich August Wolf, August Boeckh and Philipp Buttmann. From 1816, he taught classes at the gymnasium in Rudolstadt. In 1819 he became director of the Neuwied gymnasium, and in 1822 was appointed associate professor of philology at the University of Jena.
He continued to reside in his home town till his death.
During his academic career he participated in several study trips to Italy, Sicily, Greece, et al., and in 1852 accompanied Ludwig Preller (1809–1861) and Hermann Theodor Hettner (1821–1882) on a journey to Greece and Constantinople. He died in Jena, aged 75.
Saxonian Academy of Sciences.