Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903)

Awarded the Prize “for the greatest living of the art of historical writing, with special reference to his monumental work, A History of Rome.”

German historian and writer. Mommsen was born in Garding, Germany on November 30, 1817. He received his doctorate at Kiel in 1843, and after a few years in France and Italy and a short career in journalism, he became a professor of law at the University of Leipzig. His involvement in the revolution of 1848-49 led to his dismissal in 1850. After holding academic positions at the universities of Zurich and Breslau he was appointed to the chair of Ancient History at the University of Berlin in 1858. He was permanent secretary of the Prussian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Mommsen died in Germany on November 1, 1903.
Major Works:
A History of Rome (1852-1885); Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (1867-1959); Romische Geschichte (1854-1855