born Nov. 30, 1817, Garding, Schleswig
died Nov. 1, 1903, Charlottenburg, near Berlin, German Empire
German historian and writer.
After studying law, he did research in Italy and became a master of epigraphy, the study and interpretation of inscriptions. In 1848 he became a professor of law at Leipzig, but he was soon dismissed for his participation in liberal political activities; he later held teaching posts elsewhere. He remained politically minded all his life. He is most famous for his History of Rome , 4 vol. (185456, 1885), considered his masterpiece. He edited the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (from 1863), a comprehensive collection of Latin inscriptions that greatly advanced understanding of life in the ancient world. His Roman Constitutional Law , 3 vol. (187188), represented the first codification of Roman law. His lifetime scholarly output was immense, his publications numbering almost 1,000. He received the 1902 Nobel Prize for Literature.