Gottfried Liebniz. Engraving of Gottfried Wilhelm Liebniz (1646-1716), German mathematician and philosopher, praying in a boat during a storm in 1689. The incident occurred as Leibniz (or Leibnitz) was travelling from Venice, Italy, to the island of Mesola in the Adriatic Sea. When a violent storm arose the superstitious crew thought that Leibniz had caused it by displeasing God. They agreed to throw him overboard but Leibniz, who had a wide range of knowledge, understood Italian and quickly began praying. This caused the crew to change their mind and Leibniz survived. He was in Italy collecting material on the family history of his patron, the Duke of Brunswick.