Although Fehling was born in Lübeck, he had just returned from Paris at the time he applied for the post. He had crowned his training with a stay of several months in the French capital, then the world centre for the natural sciences. Fehling had first undergone an apprenticeship as a chemist, had then studied Chemistry in Heidelberg and subsequently spent two semesters working with Liebig in his laboratory in Gießen. After that, the 28-year-old had first-class training under his belt and equally impressive references to boot. So it came as no surprise that he was selected for the post.
Yet initially he was only appointed on a temporary basis, as he had not yet proven his talents as a teacher. Thus to begin with Fehling kept his Lübeckian citizenship and lived in Swabia as a foreigner. It was only when he was given the position permanently in spring 1841 and married the daughter of a Stuttgart professor that Fehling became a citizen of Württemberg.
The fact that the German-speaking world was divided into numerous single states didn't just make Fehling a foreigner in Württemberg, it also influenced his work. The government wanted him to only employ Württembergians as assistants. Yet this requirement couldn't always be fulfilled as there simply weren't yet enough young scientists in Württemberg. Yet when Fehling gave up his post at the Polytechnic in 1883, up-and-coming scientists from Württemberg were ready to follow in his footsteps. Fehling's more than forty years of teaching had borne the fruits of his endeavours.
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