Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (; ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher who is a central figure in modern philosophy. In his doctrine of transcendental idealism, he argued that space, time and causation are mere sensibilities; "things-in-themselves" exist, but their nature is unknowable. In his view, the mind shapes and structures experience, with all human experience sharing certain structural features. He drew a parallel to the Copernican revolution in his proposition that worldly objects can be intuited "a priori" ("beforehand"), and that intuition is therefore independent from objective reality. Kant believed that reason is the source of morality, and that aesthetics arise from a faculty of disinterested judgment. Kant's views continue to have a major influence on contemporary philosophy, especially the fields of epistemology, ethics, political theory, and post-modern aesthetics.
William Motherby
William Motherby (1776–1847) was the originator of the idea of an annual midday meal to celebrate Immanuel Kant on Kant's birthday, which is shared by members of the Society of Kant's Friends on 22 April every year. Till 1944 it was held in Königsberg. After the war it moved to Göttingen and, in 1976, to Mainz. In 2008 the celebration returned to the city now known as Kaliningrad, where it has been held annually since, now attended by Kant's admirers from a number of countries.