Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) was a German preacher, theologian, and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, often remembered as Martin Luther’s chief collaborator and the intellectual architect of Lutheranism. Born Philipp Schwartzerdt on February 16, 1497, in Bretten, in what is now Baden-Württemberg, Germany, he was the son of George Schwartzerdt, an armorer, and Barbara Reuter. A precocious scholar, he studied at the Latin school in Pforzheim, where his great-uncle Johann Reuchlin gave him the Greek name "Melanchthon" (meaning "black earth"). He earned a B.A. from the University of Heidelberg in 1511 at age 14 and an M.A. from Tübingen in 1514, teaching there until 1518 when Luther recommended him for a professorship in Greek at the University of Wittenberg. In 1520, he married Katharina Krapp, daughter of Tübingen’s mayor, and they had four children: Anna, Philipp, Georg, and Magdalena. Melanchthon’s preaching career unfolded alongside his academic role at Wittenberg, where he became a prolific preacher and reformer after embracing Luther’s teachings in 1518. Though not ordained until later, he preached regularly, emphasizing justification by faith and the authority of Scripture, notably contributing the Loci Communes (1521), the first systematic theology of the Reformation. As a preacher, he delivered sermons in Latin and German, shaping Lutheran doctrine through works like the Augsburg Confession (1530), which he authored for the Diet of Augsburg. His gentler approach balanced Luther’s intensity, earning him the title "Praeceptor Germaniae" (Teacher of Germany). Despite theological disputes, such as his softening stance on free will, he remained a unifying figure until his death on April 19, 1560, in Wittenberg, where he was buried beside Luther in the Castle Church, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose scholarship and sermons solidified Protestant theology.