Volker Press (March 28, 1939 in

Erding Erding () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the rural district of the same name. It had a population of 36,469 in 2019. The original Erdinger Weissbier is a well-known Bavarian specialty. Erding is located around 31 kilometers nor ...

Oberbayern Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

– October 15, 1993 in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

) 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 stu ...

Life and career

Volker Press studied

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

from 1957 to 1965 at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

. He completed his doctorate in 1966 with

Friedrich Hermann Schubert Friedrich Hermann Schubert (26 August 1925 – 30 June 1973) was a German historian. Life Born in Dresden, Schubert was born in 1925 as the son of the Dresden professor of architecture and architect Otto Schubert and the teacher Veronika ''né ...

with a dissertation on the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

in the confessional age. After serving as an assistant at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

and the University of Frankfurt, he took a post as a full professor (

Professor ordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

) of modern history at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

. In 1980 he moved to a post at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

where he taught medieval and modern history until his sudden death in 1993. The focal points of Press's research included the

imperial knights The Free Imperial knights (german: link=no, Reichsritter la, Eques imperii) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility ('' edelfrei'') and the minister ...

, the ecclesiastical territories seized by the imperial nobles, and the position of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

emperors in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

and in their home territories. His papers are in the possession of the archive of the University of Tübingen. His voluminous library was acquired by the

Charles University in Prague Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

. Press had been a member of the

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The Academ ...

since 1991.

Works

; Monographs * ''Calvinismus und Territorialstaat: Regierung und Zentralbehörden der Kurpfalz 1559–1619.'' Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1970. * ''Das alte Reich: Ausgewählte Aufsätze.'' Stephanie Blankenhorn and Johannes Kunisc, eds. 2nd. edition, Berlin: 2000, . * ''Kaiser Karl V., König Ferdinand und die Entstehung der Reichsritterschaft.'' Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1976. * ''Kriege und Krisen: Deutschland 1600–1715.'' Neue Deutsche Geschichte. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1991., . * ''Südwestdeutsche Bischofsresidenzen ausserhalb der Kathedralstädte.'' Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1992. ;Edited volumes * Moraw, Peter and Volker Press, ed. ''Academia Gissensis: Beiträge zur älteren Giessener Universitätsgeschichte.'' Marburg, 1982, . * Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. ''Altes Reich und Deutscher Bund: Kontinuität in der Diskontinuität.'' Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995. * Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. ''Martin Luther: Probleme seiner Zeit.'' Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1986. . * Press, Volker, ed. ''Alternativen zur Reichsverfassung in der frühen Neuzeit?'' Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995. .

External links

*
Contents of his papers at the Universitätsarchiv Tübingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Volker Reformation historians University of Tübingen faculty University of Giessen faculty 1939 births 1993 deaths 20th-century German historians German male non-fiction writers People from Erding

Life and career

Works

Further reading

External links