Jacob Caro (February 2, 1835G. Kaufmann, Chronik der königlichen Universität Breslau, Jahrgang 17 (1903), p. 133. The birth year 1836 results from a wrong adaptation of the Jewish calendar. – December 12, 1904) was a German

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 st ...

. Caro was born in Gnesen (Gniezno),

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Großherzogtum Posen; pl, Wielkie Księstwo Poznańskie) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the ...

, the son of

Joseph Chayyim Caro Joseph Chayyim ben Isaac Selig Caro (1800 – April 21, 1895, Włocławek, Russian Empire, now Poland) was a notable rabbi. He was educated as an Orthodox Talmudist, and married the daughter of Rabbi Tzebi Hirsch Amsterdam of Konin, government of ...

. After several years of study at the universities of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, he attracted considerable attention by his work ''Das Interregnum Polens im Jahr 1586, oder die Häuser Zborowski und Zamojski'' (

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

, 1861) and was immediately entrusted with the continuation of Röppel's history of Poland in the series of ''Geschichten der Europäischen Staaten'', edited by

Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren (25 October 1760, Arbergen6 March 1842, Göttingen) was a German historian. He was a member of the Göttingen School of History. Biography Heeren was born on 25 October 1760 in Arbergen near Bremen, a small village ...

and

Friedrich August Ukert Friedrich August Ukert (28 October 1780 – 18 May 1851) was a German history scholar, teacher and humanitarian. He was born in Eutin, Bishopric of Lübeck. From 1800 he studied philology at the University of Halle as a student of Friedrich August ...

, and published at Gotha. Caro contributed volumes ii through v (1863–88) of this monumental work. Before publishing the results of his research he undertook several extensive journeys through Galicia and the south of Russia, and upon his return to Germany in 1863 was appointed

privat-docent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualific ...

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 ...

. Shortly afterward, at the invitation of Grand Duchess Helena of Russia, he accompanied her on her travels, and was for some time attached to her suite at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Later he was promoted to the position of assistant professor at the University of Jena; and in 1869 was called by the

University of Breslau 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 ...

to fill a special chair of history. From 1882 he occupied the position of professor at that institution. He died in Breslau (Wrocław). His reputation is based chiefly on his researches in the history of Poland. Among his works, besides those already mentioned, are: *''Liber Cancellariæ Stanislai Ciolek: Ein Formelbuch der Polnischen Königskanzlei aus der Zeit der Hussitischen Bewegung'', 2 vols.,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, 1871–74 *''Aus der Kanzlei Kaiser Siegmunds'', Vienna, 1879 *''Beata und Halszka: Eine Polnisch-Russische Geschichte aus dem 16. Jahrhundert'', Breslau, 1880 *''Lessing und Swift: Studien über Nathan den Weisen'',

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

, 1869 *''Das Bündnis zu Canterbury: Eine Episode aus der Geschichte des Konstanzer Konzils'', Gotha, 1880 *''Über eine Reformationsschrift des 15. Jahrhundert'', Danzig (Gdańsk), 1882 *''Johannes Longinus: Ein Beitrag zur Litteraturgeschichte'', Jena, 1863 *''Catherina II. von Russland'', Breslau, 1876

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caro, Jacob 1835 births 1904 deaths People from Gniezno 19th-century German historians Jewish historians People from the Grand Duchy of Posen Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena Academic staff of the University of Breslau Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences German male non-fiction writers