Gottfried Ernst Groddeck (1762–1825) is considered the founder of academic philology in Poland. Born in Gdansk, he studied classical philology in Göttingen and starting in 1786 was the private tutor and librarian for the Polish prince Czartoryski. In 1801 he became professor at Vilnius University. His correspondence is a major source on the influence exerted by German philology as well as on the intellectual history of Poland and Russia.