Friedrich Heinrich Ranke (30 November 1798 – 2 September 1876) was a German Protestant

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. He was the brother of

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (; 21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

(1795–1886) and the father of

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

Heinrich von Ranke (1830-1909) and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

Johannes Ranke (1836-1916). He studied theology and

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

, where he was a pupil of

Heinrich Luden Heinrich Luden (10 April 1778 – 23 May 1847) was a German historian. Luden was born in Loxstedt in the district of Stade. At the age of 17 Luden went to the ''Domschule'' (Cathedral School) in Bremen. He subsequently studied theology ...

and

Johann Philipp Gabler Johann Philipp Gabler (4 June 1753 – 17 February 1826) was a German Protestant Christian theologian of the school of Johann Jakob Griesbach and Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Gabler was born at Frankfurt-am-Main. In 1772 he entered the University ...

. He then studied philosophy at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

(from 1817), afterwards working as a private schoolteacher in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

. In 1826 he was named pastor in the town of Rückersdorf.Ranke, Friedrich Heinrich
at Deutsche BiographieThe Church Review, Volume 29
edited by

Nathaniel Smith Richardson Nathaniel Smith Richardson (January 8, 1810 – August 7, 1883) was an American Episcopal minister, author, and editor of '' The American Church Review''. Richardson, second son and fifth child of Nathaniel and Comfort (Stone) Richardson, was born ...

, Henry Mason Baum, Edward Brenton Boggs In 1834 he relocated to

Thurnau Thurnau is a municipality in the district Kulmbach, Germany. It is known for golfing as well as its potteries. Thurnau is known for transmitter Thurnau, the medium wave transmission site for Deutschlandfunk, a German national information ra ...

as dean and senior pastor, and several years later was appointed professor of theology at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

as a successor to

Hermann Olshausen Hermann Olshausen (21 August 1796 – 4 September 1839) was a German theologian. Biography Olshausen was born at Oldeslohe in Holstein. He was educated at the universities of Kiel (1814) and Berlin (1816), where he was influenced by Schleiermach ...

(1840). In 1842 he was appointed ''Konsistorialrat'' in

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

, followed by duties as ''Konsistorialrat'' and ''Hauptprediger'' in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...

. In 1866 he was appointed ''Oberconsistorialrat'' in Munich. He wielded considerable influence towards the implementation of the ''Erweckungsbewegung'' (revivalist movement) in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. He also promoted the development of the '' Innere Mission'', a German Protestant movement. Ranke was an opponent of theological rationalism.Sentence(s) based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

Published works

He was the author of lyrics to popular hymns, two of which are part of the present-day '' Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (Protestant hymn book): * 1820

Advent Advent is a Christian season of preparation for the Nativity of Christ at Christmas. It is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin "coming; arrival", translating Greek ''parousia''. In ...

hymn, " Tochter Zion, freue dich" ("Daughter of Zion, rejoice", same music as "

Thine Be the Glory Thine Be the Glory, Risen Conquering Son (French: ''À toi la gloire O Ressuscité''), also titled Thine Is the Glory, is a Christian hymn for Easter, written by the Swiss Protestant minister, Edmond Budry (1854–1932), and set to the tune of ...

", music by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

). * 1823 Christmas carol, "Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen" (from the Latin " Adeste Fideles"; in English "

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

"; music by

John Francis Wade John Francis Wade (1 January 1711 – 16 August 1786) was an English hymnist who is sometimes credited with writing and composing the hymn " Adeste Fideles" (which was translated to "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley), even tho ...

). In 1832 he published a German edition of work by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

with the title of
Des Christen Wallfahrt nach der himmlischen Stadt
' (introduction written by

Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (26 April 1780, in Hohenstein-Ernstthal – 30 June 1860, in Laufzorn, a village in Oberhaching) was a German physician and naturalist. Biography He began his studies with theology, but turned to medicine and esta ...

). He was also the author of a two volume study of the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...

, titled ''Untersuchungen über den Pentateuch, aus dem Gebiete der hoeheren Kritik'' (volume 1, 1834; volume 2, 1840).HathiTrust Digital Library
Untersuchungen über den Pentateuch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranke, Friedrich Heinrich 1798 births 1876 deaths People from Wiehe 19th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians University of Halle alumni University of Jena alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg