Famous Scholars from Kiel

A selection

During the last three centuries well-known academics have taught and carried out research at Kiel University. We have brought together some of these academics, who have made particularly valuable contributions. The following list is continually being expanded. You will find detailed biographies and background information on the names in bold.

► Alder, Kurt (1902 - 1958)
Chemist, shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1950 with his mentor Otto Diels for the Diels-Alder reaction which was named after them. Held the chair in chemistry as an associate professor at Kiel University from 1934 to 1936.

► Anderson, Oskar (1887 - 1960)
Statistician and economist, Professor of Statistics in Kiel 1942 to 1947.

► Baggesen, Jens Immanuel (1764 - 1826)
Danish author, Professor of Danish language and Literature in Kiel 1811–1814.

► Buchner, Eduard (1860 - 1917)
Chemist, awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1907 for his research in biochemistry and his discovery of cell-free fermentation, Professor of Chemistry at Kiel from 1894 to 1896.

► Claisen, Ludwig (1851 - 1930)
Chemist, discovered the Claisen condensation of carbonic acid esters, named after him, Professor of Chemistry at Kiel from 1897 to 1904.

► Cramer, Carl Friedrich (1752 - 1807)
Theologian, translator, advocate of a cosmopolitan European culture, Professor of Oriental Languages in Kiel from 1775 to 1794.

► Creutzfeldt, Hans Gerhard (1885 - 1964)
Neurologist, described the disease named after him and his colleague Alfons Jakob (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) in 1921, Professor (from 1925) and Director (1938– 953) of Neurology and Psychiatry in Kiel, first Rector of Kiel University (1945–1946).

► Curtius, Theodor (1857 - 1928)
Chemist, gave the name to the Curtius reaction of carbonic acid azides, Professor of Chemistry at Kiel from 1889 to 1897.

► Dahlmann, Friedrich Christoph (1785 - 1860)
Historian and politician, leader of the “Göttingener Sieben" (Göttingen Seven), Professor of History 1812–1829.

► Diels, Otto (1876 - 1954)
Chemist, shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1950 with his student Kurt Alder for the Diels-Alder reaction which was named after them, Director of the Institute of Chemistry at Kiel from 1916 to 1944 and 1946 to 1948.

► Droysen, Johann Gustav (1808 - 1884)
Historian, promoted the unity of politics and history, Professor of History in Kiel from 1840–1851.

► Esmarch, Johann Friedrich August von (1823 - 1908)
Medic, co-founder of first aid in Germany, Director of the Surgery Unit in Kiel from 1854 to 1898.

► Fabricius, Johann Christian (1745 - 1808)
Johann Christian Fabricius – Professor of Natural History, Economics and Cameralistics at Kiel – and world-famous Entomologist

► Flemming, Walther (1843 - 1905)
Anatomist and histologist, the first person to conduct a systematic study of chromosomes during division, a process he called mitosis, Professor of Anatomy in Kiel from 1876 to 1902.

► Geiger, Hans (1882 - 1945)
Physicist, inventor of the Geiger counter, Professor of Experimental Physics at Kiel from 1925 to 1929.

► Harms, Bernhard (1876 - 1939)
Economist, established the current Institute for the World Economy in 1914, Professor of National Economics in Kiel from 1908 until 1933.

Hegewisch, Dietrich Hermann (1746 - 1812)
Historian, Professor of History in Kiel from 1782 to 1812.

► Hensen, Victor (1835 - 1924)
Physiologist and marine biologist, coined the term "plankton", Professor of Physiology in Kiel from 1868 to 1911.

► Hertz, Heinrich Rudolf (1857 - 1894)
Physicist, the discoverer of electro-magnetic waves and lecturer in theoretical physics in Kiel from 1883 to 1885.

► Jacoby, Felix (1876 - 1959)
Historian, Professor of Classical Philology in Kiel from 1907 to 1935.

► Kantorowicz, Hermann (1877 - 1940)
Hermann Kantorowicz made groundbreaking contributions in the areas of legal theory, history of law and criminal law which are still of significance today.

► Lenard, Philipp Eduard Anton (1862 - 1947)
Physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 for "important work on cathode rays“, Professor of Physics from1898 to 1907 at the Kiel Institute of Physics, later National Socialist and anti-semite.

► Mestorf, Johanna (1828 - 1909)
Archaeologist, first female professor and museum director in Germany, Director of the Museum vaterländischer Alterthümer (Museum of National Antiquities) in Kiel from 1891, professor from 1899.

► Meyerhof, Otto Fritz (1884 - 1951)
Biochemist, shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine with Archibald Vivian Hill in 1922 for his research on muscle metabolism, Professor of Physiology in Kiel from 1913 to 1921.

► Mitscherlich, Eilhard Alfred (1874 - 1956)
Agronomist, formulated the "Law of the minimum and the law of diminishing soil productivity", worked at the Institute of Agronomy in Kiel from 1897 to 1905.

► Möbius, Karl August (1825 - 1908)
Zoologist and ecologist, Professor of Zoology and Director of the Zoological Museum in Kiel from 1868 to 1888.

► Planck, Max (1858 - 1947)
Physicist, founder of quantum theory, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918, Professor of Theoretical Physics in Kiel from 1885 to 1889.

► Radbruch, Gustav (1878 - 1949)
Lawyer, important legal philosopher and neo-Kantian, Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Philosophy in Kiel from 1919 to 1926.

► Reinhold, Karl Leonhard (1758 - 1823)
Philosopher, exponent of the German Enlightenment, Professor of Philosophy from 1793 to 1823.

► Reyher, Samuel (1635 - 1714)
Samuel Reyher was the first representative of Mathematics at the Christiana Albertina and taught in Kiel from 1665, when the university was founded, until 1714.

► Scherk, Heinrich Ferdinand (1798 - 1885)
Heinrich Ferdinand Scherk lectured at the Christiana Albertina as a full Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy from 1833 to 1852.

► Schneider, Erich (1900 - 1970)
Economist, important economic theorist, Professor of Theoretical Political Economics in Kiel from 1946 to 1969 and President of the Institute for the World Economy from 1961 to 1969.

► Steinitz, Ernst (1871 - 1928)
Mathematician, author of seminal works on algebra, Professor of Mathematics in Kiel from 1920 to 1928.

► Tetens, Johann Nikolaus (1736 - 1807)
Philosopher, mathematician and naturalist, an important exponent of the German Enlightenment, Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy in Kiel from 1776 to 1786.

► Tönnies, Ferdinand (1855 - 1936)
Sociologist, founder of German sociology, associate professor from 1881 to 1908 and Professor of Political Economy in Kiel from 1909 to 1916.

► Treitschke, Heinrich von (1843 - 1896)
Historian and political publicist, Professor of History and Politics in Kiel from 1866 to 1867.

► Unsöld, Albrecht (1905 - 1995)
Astrophysicist, set out the principles for determining the physical conditions in stellar atmospheres, Professor and Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Kiel from 1932 to 1973.

► Waitz, Georg (1813 - 1886)
Historian and politician, Professor of History in Kiel from 1842 to 1848.

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