Hans Luder was the father of Martin Luther. He worked as a leaseholder of copper mines and smelters for 20 years, and he served as one of four citizen representatives on the Mansfeld council after 1484 before becoming a town councilor in 1492. Luder used his hard-earned money to put his son through the University of Erfurt with the hopes of seeing his son become a lawyer and elevate his position, but Luther instead became a priest after he was nearly struck by lightning, making his father furious.