Ranke

Ranke, Leopold von (1795-1886), historian, was born in Thuringia, and in 1817 became professor of history at Frankfort-on-the-Oder. His first notable work was his History of the Roman and Teuton Nations (1824), and this gained him a professorship. In 1827 he published a still more important work, History of the Princes and, Peoples of Southern Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Obtaining leave of absence for n time, he made many researches in great Italian and other libraries for his best-known work, the History of the Popes, which appeared in 1834-37. This has been often translated, but his greatest effort is considered to be his History of Germany during the Reformation (1839-47). In 1841 he was made royal historiographer, and to the day of his death continued to pour out his wealth of historical information, among his productions being excellent histories of England, France, and Prussia.