Karl Marx University, Leipzig
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Leipzig University (), in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony Frederick I, the Belligerent or the Warlike (; 11 April 1370 – 4 January 1428), a member of the House of Wettin, ruled as List of margraves of Meissen, Margrave of Meissen from 1407 and List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony (as Fred ...
and his brother
William II, Margrave of Meissen Wilhelm II, the Rich (23 April 1371 – 13 March 1425) was the second son of Margrave Frederick ''the Strict'' of Meissen and Catherine of Henneberg. Under the Division of Chemnitz of 1382, he received the Osterland and Landsberg jointly with ...
, and originally comprised the four scholastic faculties. Since its inception, the university has engaged in teaching and research for over 600 years without interruption. Famous alumni include
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
,
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...
,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
,
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 ...
,
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
,
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
,
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
,
Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...
,
Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was b ...
. The university is associated with ten
Nobel laureates The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
, most recently with
Svante Pääbo Svante Pääbo (; born 20 April 1955) is a Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate who specialises in the field of evolutionary genetics. As one of the founders of paleogenetics, he has worked extensively on the Neanderthal genome. In 1997, he ...
who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2022.


History


Founding and development until 1900

The university was modelled on the University of Prague, from which the German-speaking faculty members withdrew to Leipzig after the
Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...
crisis and the
Decree of Kutná Hora The Decree of Kutná Hora () or Decree of Kuttenberg () was issued on 18 January 1409 in Kutná Hora (''Kuttenberg''), Bohemia, by King Wenceslaus IV to give members of the Bohemian nation a decisive voice in the affairs of the Charles University i ...
. The ''Alma mater Lipsiensis'' opened in 1409, after it had been officially chartered by
Pope Alexander V Peter of Candia, also known as Peter Phillarges () ( 1339 – 3 May 1410), named as Alexander V (; ), was an antipope elected by the Council of Pisa during the Western Schism (1378–1417). He reigned briefly from 26 June 1409 to his death i ...
in his '' Bull of Acknowledgment'' on (9 September of that year). Its first rector was Johannes Otto von Münsterberg. From its foundation, the Paulinerkirche served as the university church. After the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
, the church and the monastery buildings were donated to the university in 1544. In order to secure independent and sustainable funding, the university was endowed with the lordship over nine villages east of
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
(university villages). It kept this status for nearly 400 years until land reforms were carried out in the 19th century. Like many European universities, the University of Leipzig was structured into colleges (''collegia'') responsible for organising accommodation and collegiate lecturing. Among the colleges of Leipzig were the Small College, the Large College, the Red College (''Rotes Kolleg'', also known as the New College), the college of our Lady (''Frauenkolleg'') and the Pauliner-College (''Pauliner Kolleg''). There were also private residential halls (''bursen'', see English 'bursaries'). The colleges had jurisdiction over their members. The college structure was abandoned later and today only the names survive. During the first centuries, the university grew slowly and was a rather regional institution. This changed, however, during the 19th century when the university became a world-class institution of higher education and research. At the end of the 19th century, important scholars such as
Bernhard Windscheid Bernhard Windscheid (26 June 1817 – 26 October 1892) was a German jurist and a member of the pandectistic school of law thought. He became famous with his essay on the concept of a legal action, which sparkled a debate with that is said to ...
(one of the fathers of the German Civil Code) and
Wilhelm Ostwald Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (; – 4 April 1932) was a Latvian chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst and Svante Arrhenius. ...
(viewed as a founder of modern
physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...
) taught at Leipzig. Leipzig University was one of the first German universities to allow women to register as "guest students". At its general assembly in 1873, the thanked the University of Leipzig and Prague for allowing women to attend as guest students. This was the year that the first woman in Germany obtained her JD, Johanna von Evreinov. During the decline and
dissolution of the Ottoman Empire The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) was a period of history of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the Young Turk Revolution and ultimately ending with the empire's dissolution and the founding of the modern state of Turkey. The ...
in the 19th and first decade of 20th century together with some other German universities Leipzig University turned into one of the centers of higher education for state administrations and elites of newly independent
Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
states (
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
) educating over 5,500 students from the region in 1859–1909 period. Until the beginning of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Leipzig University attracted a number of renowned scholars and later Nobel Prize laureates, including Paul Ehrlich, Felix Bloch, Werner Heisenberg and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga. Many of the university's alumni became important scientists.


Nazi period

Under
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
rule many degrees of Jews were cancelled. Some were later reinstated as Karl-Marx University degrees by the GDR. Noteworthy Nazis, such as Max Clara (chair of anatomy) taught at the university and were appointed to positions with great authority. The university was kept open throughout World War II, even after the destruction of its buildings. During the war the acting rector,
Erich Maschke Erich Maschke (March 2, 1900 – February 11, 1982) was a German historian, history professor, and Nazi ideologue. He last taught at Heidelberg University. During the Nazi era he promoted racist and nationalist ideology. After the war he led the ...
, described the continuation of the university in a memo on 11 May 1945, announcing the vote for a new rector: By the end of the war 60 per cent of the university's buildings and 70 per cent of its books had been destroyed.


The university under the German Democratic Republic

The university reopened after the war on 5 February 1946, but it was affected by the uniformity imposed on social institutions in the
Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
. In 1948 the freely elected student council was disbanded and replaced by
Free German Youth The Free German Youth (; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth wing of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant for young adults, both male a ...
members. The chairman of the Student Council, Wolfgang Natonek, and other members were arrested and imprisoned, but the university was also a nucleus of resistance. Thus began the Belter group, with flyers for free elections. The head of the group, Herbert Belter, was executed in 1951 in Moscow. The
German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
was created in 1949, and in 1953 for Karl Marx Year the university was renamed by its government the Karl Marx University, Leipzig after
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
. In 1968, the partly damaged
Augusteum An Augusteum (plural ''Augustea'') was originally a site of imperial cult in ancient Roman religion, named after the imperial title of Augustus. It was known as a Sebasteion in the Greek East of the Roman Empire. Examples have been excavated in ...
, including Johanneum and Albertinum and the intact Paulinerkirche, were demolished to make way for a redevelopment of the university, carried out between 1973 and 1978. The dominant building of the university was the University Tower (now
City-Hochhaus Leipzig City-Hochhaus is a 36- story skyscraper in Leipzig, Germany. At , it is the tallest multistory building in Leipzig and is located proximately of the eastern part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's district Mitte. The tower was designed ...
), built between 1968 and 1972 in the form of an open book.


After the reunification of Germany

In 1991, following the
reunification of Germany German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the German Democratic Republic and the integration of i ...
, the university's name was restored to the original Leipzig University (''Alma mater lipsiensis''). The reconstruction of the University Library, which was heavily damaged during the war and in the
GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
barely secured, was completed in 2002. With the delivery of the University Tower to a private user, the university was forced to spread some faculties over several locations in the city. It controversially redesigned its historical centre at the
Augustusplatz The Augustusplatz is a square located at the east end of the city centre of Leipzig, borough Leipzig-Mitte. It is the city's largest square and one of the largest squares in Europe. It is also part of the city's inner-city ring-road and a centra ...
. In 2002, Behet Bonzio received the second prize in the architectural competition; a first prize was not awarded by the jury. A lobby with partial support of the provincial government called for the rebuilding of St. Paul's Church and
Augusteum An Augusteum (plural ''Augustea'') was originally a site of imperial cult in ancient Roman religion, named after the imperial title of Augustus. It was known as a Sebasteion in the Greek East of the Roman Empire. Examples have been excavated in ...
. This caused the resistance of the university leadership, the majority of the students and population of Leipzig. On 24 March 2004 a jury chose a design by Dutch architect
Erick van Egeraat Erick van Egeraat (; born 1956) is a Dutch architect and author. He heads the architectural practice Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects (EEA), based in Rotterdam with offices in Moscow, Budapest and Prague. He is best known for his projects o ...
, which was well received by almost all parties. He recalls the outer form of the St. Paul's Church (today called Paulinum) and Augusteum, and abstracted the original building complex. Renovations began in the summer of 2005. In 2008 the university was able to prevail in the nationwide "Initiative of Excellence" of Germany and it was granted the graduate school " BuildMoNa: Leipzig School of Natural Sciences – Building with Molecules and Nano-objects". In addition, the university was able to receive grants from the Saxon excellence initiative for the "Life" project – a project that tries to explore common diseases more effectively. Also in 2008 the "Bach Archive" was associated with the university. In 2009, the Leipzig University celebrated its 600th anniversary with over 300 scientific and cultural lectures and exhibitions, reflecting the role of the university's research and teaching from its beginning.


Campus

The university's urban campus comprises several locations. All in all, the university is spread across 38 locations in Leipzig. The main buildings in the city center (district
Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...
) are still located on the same land plots as the earliest university buildings in 1409. The university's buildings in the center of Leipzig underwent substantial reconstruction from 2005, the new university's main building being drafted by Dutch architect
Erick van Egeraat Erick van Egeraat (; born 1956) is a Dutch architect and author. He heads the architectural practice Erick van Egeraat Associated Architects (EEA), based in Rotterdam with offices in Moscow, Budapest and Prague. He is best known for his projects o ...
. The estimated total cost for the renovation project is 140 million euros. The new buildings were scheduled to be completed in 2009/2010, in time for the university's 600th anniversary celebrations. Besides the faculties and other teaching institutions, several other bodies serve the university: the University Library, a university archive and administration, numerous museums (e.g. the Museum for Music Instruments and the Museum of Ancient Egypt) and the university hospital. The university's
Leipzig Botanical Garden The Leipzig Botanical Garden () is a 3.5-hectare botanical garden maintained by the University of Leipzig and is located at Linnéstraße 1, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It is the oldest botanical garden in Germany and among the oldest in the world, ...
, the second-oldest botanical garden in Europe. was established in 1542. The university's Musical Instrument Museum includes one of the world's three surviving pianos built by
Bartolomeo Cristofori Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco (; May 4, 1655 – January 27, 1731) was an Italian maker of musical instruments famous for inventing the piano. Life The available source materials on Cristofori's life include his birth and death recor ...
, the piano's inventor. Five other Cristofori instruments are included in the museum's collections. Key Central institutions of the university are * Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine * Career Service * German Institute for Literature * German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig * Higher Education Didactics Centre Saxony * Kustodie (Art Collection) * Leipzig University Music * Leipzig Research Centre Global Dynamics * Research Academy Leipzig * Language Centre * Studienkolleg Sachsen (The university's pathway and entrance examination provider) * Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine Leipzig * University Archive * University Library * University Computer Centre * Centre for University Sport * Centre for Teacher Training and School Research * Centre for Media and Communication


Library

The University Library of Leipzig was established in 1543. It is one of the oldest German university libraries and it serves as a source of literature and information for the Leipzig University as well as the general public in the region. Its extensive historical and special collections are nationally and internationally recognized. The library consists of the main building "Bibliotheca Albertina" and forty branches situated near their respective academic institutions. The current stock comprises 5 million volumes and about 7,700 periodicals. Collections range from important medieval and modern manuscripts to incunabula, papyri, autographs, ostraka and coins. The Apel Codex, a manuscript of 16th century music, is housed in the Leipzig University library, as well as the Papyrus Ebers. The Leipzig University Library also owns parts of the
Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...
, a Bible manuscript from the 4th century, brought from Sinai in 1843 by
Constantin von Tischendorf Constantin is an Aromanian language, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian language, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian language, Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See ...
. Papyrus Ebers is the longest and oldest surviving medical manuscript from ancient Egypt, dated to around 1600 BC. The Codex contains large parts of the Old Testament and a complete New Testament in ancient Greek, and is one of the most important known manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament and the New Testament. It is the oldest fully preserved copy of the New Testament. The Oriental Manuscripts of the Leipzig University Library are around 3,200 oriental manuscripts. Some of the University Library locations in Leipzig are: * Bibliotheca Albertina at Beethovenstraße 6 * Campus Library at Universitätsstr. 3 * Library of Deutsches Literaturinstitut at Wächterstr. 34 * Library of Arts at Dittrichring 18–20 * Library of Musicology at Neumarkt 9–19 * Library of Law at Burgstr. 27 * Library of Medicine at Johannisallee 34 * Library of Medicine at Käthe-Kollwitz-Str. 82 * Library of Veterinary Medicine at the Tierkliniken 5 * Library of Biosciences at Talstr. 35 * Library of Chemistry and Physics at Johannisallee 29 * Library of Earth Sciences at Talstr. 35 * Library of Geography at Johannisallee 19 * Library of Archaeology, Prehistory and Ancient History at Ritterstr. 14 * Library of Oriental Studies at Schillerstr. 6 * Library of Sports Science at Jahnallee 59 In addition to the university library, one of the two centers of the
German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...
is based at Leipzig, the collections of which are open to use for academic research.


Faculties

The original four facilities were the Faculty of Arts, Theology, Medicine, and Law. As of November 2021, the university comprises the following 14 faculties with institutes and centers associated with each one. ; Faculty of Chemistry * Institute of Analytical Chemistry * Institute of Bioanalytical Chemistry * Institute of Chemical Technology * Institute of Inorganic Chemistry * Institute of Organic Chemistry * Wilhelm Ostwald Institut of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ; Faculty of Economics and Management Science * Institute of Accounting, Finance and Taxation (IUFB) * Institute of Building Design and Management (IGB) * Institute of Business Education and Management Training (IFW) * Institute of Economic Policy (IWP) * Institute of Empirical Economic Research (IEW) * Institute of Information Systems * Institute of Infrastructure and Resource Management (IIRM) * Institute of Insurance Science (IVL) * Institute of Public Finance and Public Management (PFPM) * Institute of Real Estate Management (IIM) * Institute of Service and Relationship Management (ISRM) * Institute of Theoretical Economics (ITVWL) * Institute of Trade and Banking (IHB) * Institute of Urban Development and Construction Management (ISB) ; Faculty of Education * Institute of Educational Sciences * Institute of Pre-Primary and Primary Education * Institute of Special and Inclusive Education ; Faculty of History, Arts and Regional Studies * Department of History * Institute of African Studies * Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies * Institute of Anthropology * Institute of Art Education * Institute of Art History * Institute of East Asian Studies * Institute of Egyptology * Institute of Musicology * Institute of Oriental Studies * Institute of South and Central Asian Studies * Institute of the Study of Religions * Institute of Theatre Studies ; Faculty of Law * Ernst Jaeger Institute of Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Law * Institute of Broadcasting Law * Institute of Energy and Regulatory Law * Institute of Environmental and Planning Law * Institute of Foreign and European Private and Procedural Law * Institute of German and International Law of Banking and Capital Markets * Institute of International Law * Institute of Labour and Social Law * Institute of Law and Politics * Institute of Public International Law, European Law and Foreign Public Law * Institute of Tax Law * Institute of the Foundations of Law * Institute of the Legal Profession ; Faculty of Life Sciences * Institute of Biochemistry * Institute of Biology * Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology ; Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science * Institute of Computer Science * Institute of Mathematics ; Faculty of Medicine * Carl Ludwig Institute of Physiology * Centre for Clinical Trials Leipzig * Centre for Environmental Medicine and Environmental Epidemiology * Clinical Pharmacology * Experimental Centre of the Faculty of Medicine * General Medicine Unit * Heart Center Leipzig GmbH * Innovation Center Computer Assisted Surgery (ICCAS) * Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics * Institute of Anatomy * Institute of Biochemistry (medicine) * Institute of Legal Medicine * Institute of Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology * Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health * Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) AdiposityDiseases * Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research * Karl-Sudhoff-Institute of History of Medicine and Science * LIFE Forschungszentrum für Zivilisationserkrankungen (LIFE) * Neurological Rehabilitation Centre * Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research * Rudolf Boehm Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology ; Faculty of Philology * Institute of American Studies * Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology * Institute of British Studies * Institute of Classical Studies and Comparative Literature * Herder-Institute (German as a Foreign Language) * Institute of German Language and Literature * Institute of Linguistics * Institute of Romance Studies * Institute of Slavonic Studies * Institute of Sorbian Studies ; Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences * Institute of Geography * Institute of Geophysics and Geology * Institute of Meteorology * Peter Debye Institute of Soft Matter Physics * Felix Bloch Institute of Solid State Physics * Institute of Theoretical Physics ; Faculty of Social Sciences and Philosophy * Institute of Communication and Media Studies * Institute of Global and European Studies * Institute of Philosophy * Institute of Political Science * Institute of Sociology * Institute of the Study of Culture ; Faculty of Sport Science * Institute of Sport Medicine and Prevention * Institute of General Kinesiology and Athletics Training * Institute of Movement and Training Science in Sports I * Institute of Movement and Training Science in Sports II * Institute of Exercise and Public Health * Institute of Sport Psychology and Physical Education ; Faculty of Theology * Institute of Church History * Institute of New Testament Science * Institute of Old Testament Studies * Institute of Practical Theology * Institute of Religious Education * Institute of Systematic Theology ; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine * Department for birds and reptiles * Department for horses * Department for ruminants and swine * Department for small animal * Institute of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology * Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health * Institute of Animal Nutrition, Nutrition Diseases and Dietetics * Institute of Bacteriology and Mycology * Institute of Food Hygiene * Institute of Immunology * Institute of Parasitology * Institute of Pathology * Institute of Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Toxicology * Institute of Physiological Chemistry * Institute of Physiology * Institute of Virology * Oberholz Farm for Teaching and Research


Institutes affiliated with the university

* International Max Planck Research School- Mathematics in the Sciences (IMPRS MiS), in association with
Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences (MPI MiS) in Leipzig is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. Founded on March 1, 1996, the institute works on projects which apply mathematics in various areas of natural science ...
* International Max Planck Research School on Neuroscience of Communication: Function, Structure, and Plasticity, in association with
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences The Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences is located in Leipzig, Germany. The institute was founded in 2004 by a merger between the former Max Planck Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience in Leipzig and the Max Planck Institu ...
* International Max Planck Research School "The Leipzig School of Human Origins", in association with
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (, shortened to MPI EVA) is a research institute based in Leipzig, Germany, that was founded in 1997. It is part of the Max Planck Society network. Well-known scientists currently based at ...
* Institute of Non-Classical Chemistry e.V * Institute for Applied Informatics * Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture at Leipzig University * Leipzig Centre for the History and Culture of East Central Europe * Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine *
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig is a German Research Foundation, DFG research center with staff and members at its main locations in Halle (Saale), Halle, Jena and Leipzig. It is a central facilit ...
* Institute of East Asian Studies of the Leipzig University * Institute of Classical Archaeology of the Leipzig University * Institute for International Law, European Law and Foreign Public Law (InVEA) of the Leipzig University


Academics

Today, the university has 14 faculties. With over 29,000 students, it is Saxony's second-largest university. There are now more than 150 institutes and the university offers 190 study programs leading to
Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
s, Master's degrees,
Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, physical therapists, teachers, research librarians, archivists, pharmacists, food chemists, psyc ...
,
Diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from ) is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
(equivalent to master's degree) and Ph.D.s. The university offers a number of courses in English and other foreign languages, and there are several programs which have been specially designed for foreign students. Exchange partner universities include the universities of
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, and
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Traditionally contacts to universities in Eastern Europe and the Far East are strong as well, e.g. there are cooperations with leading institutions such as Moscow's
Lomonosov University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...
and
Renmin University The Renmin University of China (RUC) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, Haidian, Beijing, China. The university is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and ...
in Beijing.There are several International Master's programs: American Studies, Global Studies, Sustainable Development Studies, SEPT (MBA in SME Promotion) and one Bachelor/Master's/Ph.D. program (International Physics Studies Program) taught in English. American Studies Leipzig was awarded three international professorships: The Fulbright-Leipzig Chair for American Studies, the DAAD Professorship for American and International Studies, and the Picador Guest Professorship for Literature. It is also the home of ''Aspeers – Emerging voices in American Studies'', a graduate-level peer-reviewed scholarly journal for
American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...
. Erasmus Mundus Global Studies is an interdisciplinary, research-based Master offered by a consortium of five European universities: Leipzig University, the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
,
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
,
University of Wroclaw A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
and
Roskilde University Roskilde University (, abbreviated RUC or RU) is a Danish public university founded in 1972 and located in Trekroner in the Eastern part of Roskilde. The university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variet ...
. In the field of anthropology, the university is cooperating with the Leipzig
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (, shortened to MPI EVA) is a research institute based in Leipzig, Germany, that was founded in 1997. It is part of the Max Planck Society network. Well-known scientists currently based at ...
. In 1995, the Leibniz-Institute for Jewish History and Culture named after
Simon Dubnow Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov; ; rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪdʑ ˈdubnəf; 10 September 1860 – 8 December 1941) was a Jewish-Russian Empire, Russian h ...
was formed as a research institution related to the university. Since 2008 the university is also home to one of Germany's few
Confucius Institute Confucius Institutes (CI; ) are public educational and cultural promotion programs of the state of China. The stated aim of the program is to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, and facilita ...
s. The institute is based on an agreement of June 2006 between the university administration and representatives of the Chinese Embassy to establish a Confucius Institute in cooperation with the Renmin University and the "National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language". Leipzig University has been the home of the first German chair for Chinese and East Asian Languages in the 19th century, which later became the Institute of East Asian Studies, which still exists today (see
Georg von der Gabelentz Georg von der Gabelentz (16 March 1840 – 11 December 1893) was a German general linguist and sinologist. His (1881), according to a critic, "remains until today recognized as probably the finest overall grammatical survey of the Classical Chine ...
).


Rankings

Leipzig University is recognized in several
university ranking College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system. These rankings can be conducted at the national or international level, assessing inst ...
systems. In the 2024
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
, the university was ranked 479th globally, placing it within the top 30 (29th) nationally. The
Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...
(ARWU), for 2023, positioned the university in the range of 201–300 on the global scale and somewhere between 10th and 19th within the country. The university is ranked 18th in Germany, 98th in Europe, and 264th in the world by the web-based Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, a ranking evaluating universities' scientific online publications.


International students

Leipzig university has a large body of international students. In winter term 2017, out of its 28,797 students about 11% (3,174) were foreign students.


Student life

Leipzig has a thriving student life with a large number of student run bars, sports clubs and recreational facilities for students. The student body in Leipzig is diverse, not only due to the broad spectrum of subjects at the university but also because of the other higher education institutions in the city. The
Moritzbastei The Moritzbastei (translation: Moritz bastion) is the only remaining part of the ancient town fortifications of Leipzig. It is located on Kurt-Masur-Platz in the southeast of the city center. From 1979 to 1993 it was operated by Leipzig Univer ...
is the largest student club in Germany, it is part of the historic city fortifications of Leipzig and is famous for its atmosphere and large number of cultural events. The university is home to the Leipzig Academic Orchestra and the University Choir of Leipzig. There are numerous courses offered in performing arts every semester and a dance festival is organised by students once a year. In the field of sports, the university offers training opportunities and courses in almost all disciplines. During the annual Leipzig book fair, the university library and other university institutions organise public events for authors.


Notable people

Leipzig University has produced many notable individuals and noble laureates. Some famous people affiliated with Leipzig include:


Music

*
Johann Christoph Altnickol Johann Christoph Altnickol, or Altnikol, (baptised 1 January 1720, buried 25 July 1759) was a German organist, bass singer, and composer. He was a student, copyist and son-in-law of Johann Sebastian Bach. Biography Altnikol was born in Berna b ...
, German composer, son-in-law to Johann Sebastian Bach *
Johann Friedrich Agricola Johann Friedrich Agricola (4 January 1720 – 2 December 1774) was a German composer, organist, singer, pedagogue, and writer on music. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Flavio Anicio Olibrio. Biography Agricola was born in Dobitschen, Th ...
, German composer, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach *
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...
, German composer, second famous son of
Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
*
Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (21 June 1732 – 26 January 1795) was a German composer and harpsichordist, the fifth son of Johann Sebastian Bach, sometimes referred to as the "Bückeburg Bach". Born in Leipzig in the Electorate of Saxony, he w ...
, German composer, 3rd famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach *
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 17101 July 1784) was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an improviser ...
, German composer, first famous son of Johann Sebastian Bach *
Lorenz Christoph Mizler Lorenz Christoph Mizler von Kolof (also known as Wawrzyniec Mitzler de Kolof and Mitzler de Koloff; 26 July 1711 – 8 May 1778) was a German physician, historian, printer, mathematician, Baroque music composer, and precursor of the Enlighten ...
, German composer and music theorist, pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach *
Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the last ...
, German music theorist *
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
, German music composer *
Christoph Graupner Christoph Graupner (10 May 1760) was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel. Life Born in Hartmannsdorf near Kirchberg i ...
, German composer *
Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...
, German composer,
Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...
* Johann David Heinichen, German composer and music theorist, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon
Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...
*
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, German composer *
Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...
, German composer


Humanities

*
Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...
, German historian, recipient of The Nobel Prize in Literature. *
Franz Delitzsch Franz Delitzsch (23 February 1813, in Leipzig – 4 March 1890, in Leipzig) was a German Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. Delitzsch wrote many commentaries on books of the Bible, Jewish antiquities, Biblical psychology, as well as a history of J ...
, German Theologian and Hebrew Scholar. * Michael Ranft, German historian and theologian. *
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
, German philosopher. * Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian. *
Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...
, German theologian. * Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, controversial German Protestant, biblical scholar, theologian, and polemicist. * Christoph Ernst Luthardt German theologian. * Martin Petzoldt German theologian. *
Martin Noth Martin Noth (3 August 1902 – 30 May 1968) was a German scholar of the Hebrew Bible who specialized in the pre-Exilic history of the Hebrews and promoted the hypothesis that the Israelite tribes in the immediate period after the settlement in Can ...
German theologian and Old Testament Scholar. *
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
, German poet and polymath. *
Max Muller Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ( ...
, philologist and Orientalist who wrote authoritative works on Indology. *
Leonard Bloomfield Leonard Bloomfield (April 1, 1887 – April 18, 1949) was an American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s. He is considered to be the father of American distributionalis ...
, American linguist who led the development of structural linguistics in the United States during the 1930s and the 1940s. He is considered to be the father of American
Distributionalism Distributionalism was a general theory of language and a discovery procedure for establishing elements and structures of language based on observed usage. The purpose of distributionalism was to provide a scientific basis for syntax as independent ...
. *
Hans-Georg Gadamer Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; 11 February 1900 – 13 March 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 on hermeneutics, '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''). Life Family and early life Gad ...
, German philosopher and rector of the university *
Johann Christoph Gottsched Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author, critic and grammarian of the Enlightenment. Biography Early life He was born at Juditten (renamed Mendeleyevo in 1947) near Königsberg (K ...
, German poet, author, and critic. * Christian Friedrich Henrici, German poet, Saxon Actuary, Postal clerk, Postal Commissioner, and Wine inspector. *
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...
, German philosopher and writer. *
Lin Yutang Lin Yutang (10 October 1895 – 26 March 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. One scholar commented that Lin's "particular blend of sophistication and casualness found a wide audience, and he became a ma ...
, Chinese author and linguist. *
Nathan Söderblom Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom (; 15 January 1866 – 12 July 1931) was a Swedish bishop. He was the Church of Sweden Archbishop of Uppsala from 1914 to 1931, and recipient of the 1930 Nobel Peace Prize. He is commemorated in the Calendar of ...
, Swedish clergyman, Nobel Peace Prize recipient. * C. F. W. Walther, first President of the
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
and its most influential theologian. *
Ferdinand de Saussure Ferdinand Mongin de Saussure (; ; 26 November 185722 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is wi ...
, linguist, founder of structuralism. * Gert Jäger,
Otto Kade Otto Kade (6 May 1819 – 19 July 1900) was a German musicologist, organist, conductor and composer. Life and career Kade was born in Dresden. After graduating from the Kreuzschule, Kade studied harmony and counterpoint with the Kreuzkantor ...
and Albrecht Neubert, translation scholars and founders of the Leipzig School.


Sciences

*
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...
, German philosopher, polymath, and mathematician who developed
calculus Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...
*
Felix Klein Felix Christian Klein (; ; 25 April 1849 – 22 June 1925) was a German mathematician and Mathematics education, mathematics educator, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and the associations betwe ...
, German mathematician, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis and non-Euclidean geometry *
Sophus Lie Marius Sophus Lie ( ; ; 17 December 1842 – 18 February 1899) was a Norwegian mathematician. He largely created the theory of continuous symmetry and applied it to the study of geometry and differential equations. He also made substantial cont ...
, Norwegian mathematician who developed
Lie algebra In mathematics, a Lie algebra (pronounced ) is a vector space \mathfrak g together with an operation called the Lie bracket, an alternating bilinear map \mathfrak g \times \mathfrak g \rightarrow \mathfrak g, that satisfies the Jacobi ident ...
* Friedrich Engel, German mathematician known for, amongst others,
Engel expansion The Engel expansion of a positive real number ''x'' is the unique non-decreasing sequence of positive integers (a_1,a_2,a_3,\dots) such that :x=\frac+\frac+\frac+\cdots = \frac\!\left(1 + \frac\!\left(1 + \frac\left(1+\cdots\right)\right)\right) ...
and
Engel's theorem In representation theory, a branch of mathematics, Engel's theorem states that a finite-dimensional Lie algebra \mathfrak g is a nilpotent Lie algebra if and only if for each X \in \mathfrak g, the adjoint map :\operatorname(X)\colon \mathfrak \ ...
*
August Ferdinand Möbius August Ferdinand Möbius (, ; ; 17 November 1790 – 26 September 1868) was a German mathematician and theoretical astronomer. Life and education Möbius was born in Schulpforta, Electorate of Saxony, and was descended on his mothe ...
, German mathematician and theoretical astronomer, known for the
Möbius strip In mathematics, a Möbius strip, Möbius band, or Möbius loop is a Surface (topology), surface that can be formed by attaching the ends of a strip of paper together with a half-twist. As a mathematical object, it was discovered by Johann Bened ...
. * Karl Mollweide, German mathematician and astronomer, known for the
Mollweide projection 400px, Mollweide projection of the world 400px, The Mollweide projection with Tissot's indicatrix of deformation The Mollweide projection is an equal-area, pseudocylindrical map projection generally used for maps of the world or celestial sp ...
*
Hermann Hankel Hermann Hankel (14 February 1839 – 29 August 1873) was a German mathematician. Having worked on mathematical analysis during his career, he is best known for introducing the Hankel transform and the Hankel matrix. Biography Hankel was born on ...
, German mathematician, known for the
Hankel transform In mathematics, the Hankel transform expresses any given function ''f''(''r'') as the weighted sum of an infinite number of Bessel functions of the first kind . The Bessel functions in the sum are all of the same order ν, but differ in a scalin ...
*
Felix Hausdorff Felix Hausdorff ( , ; November 8, 1868 – January 26, 1942) was a German mathematician, pseudonym Paul Mongré (''à mogré' (Fr.) = "according to my taste"), who is considered to be one of the founders of modern topology and who contributed sig ...
, German mathematician, one of the founders of modern
topology Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...
, known for the
Hausdorff space In topology and related branches of mathematics, a Hausdorff space ( , ), T2 space or separated space, is a topological space where distinct points have disjoint neighbourhoods. Of the many separation axioms that can be imposed on a topologi ...
*
Bartel Leendert van der Waerden Bartel Leendert van der Waerden (; 2 February 1903 – 12 January 1996) was a Dutch mathematician and historian of mathematics. Biography Education and early career Van der Waerden learned advanced mathematics at the University of Amste ...
, Dutch mathematician *
Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler (1 November 1751, in Görlitz – 16 October 1795, in Leipzig) was a German lawyer and physicist who lived in the Holy Roman Empire. He studied mathematics, natural sciences and law at the University of Leipzig, ob ...
German mathematician, physicist and lawyer, author of 'Physikalisches Wörterbuch' *
Edgar Odell Lovett Edgar Odell Lovett (April 14, 1871 – August 13, 1957) was an American educator and education administrator. He was the first president of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston, Texas. Lovett was recommended to the post by Woodr ...
, American mathematician * Eberhard Zeidler, German mathematician and first managing director of Max Planck institute of mathematics in the sciences *
Wei-Liang Chow Chow Wei-Liang (; October 1, 1911, Shanghai – August 10, 1995, Baltimore) was a Chinese-American mathematician and stamp collector. He was well known for his work in algebraic geometry. Biography Chow was a student in the US, graduating from ...
, Chinese mathematician and stamp collector born in Shanghai, known for his work in algebraic geometry *
Johann Heinrich Winckler Johann Heinrich Winkler or Winckler (12 March 1703 – 18 May 1770) was a German physicist and philosopher. Biography Early life Winckler was born in Jałowiec, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Wingendorf, a village in Silesia.Klemme, Heiner F; Kuehn, ...
, German physicist *
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...
, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics *
Felix Bloch Felix Bloch (; ; 23 October 1905 – 10 September 1983) was a Swiss-American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics with Edward Mills Purcell "for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and di ...
, Swiss physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics *
Klaus Fuchs Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs (29 December 1911 – 28 January 1988) was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who supplied information from the American, British, and Canadian Manhattan Project to the Soviet Union during and shortly a ...
, German theoretical physicist and atomic spy *
Friedrich Hund Friedrich Hermann Hund (4 February 1896 – 31 March 1997) was a German physicist from Karlsruhe known for his work on atoms and molecules. He is known for the Hund's rules to predict the electron configuration of chemical elements. His work on H ...
, German physicist, discovered
quantum tunnelling In physics, quantum tunnelling, barrier penetration, or simply tunnelling is a quantum mechanical phenomenon in which an object such as an electron or atom passes through a potential energy barrier that, according to classical mechanics, shoul ...
and is known for
Hund's rules In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, Hund's rules refers to a set of rules that German physicist Friedrich Hund formulated around 1925, which are used to determine the term symbol that corresponds to the ground state of a multi-electron atom ...
*
Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Julius Edgar Lilienfeld (April 18, 1882 – August 28, 1963) was an American electrical engineer and physicist who has been credited with the first patent on the field-effect transistor in 1925. He was never able to build a working practical ...
, Austro-Hungarian physicist *
Ludwig Boltzmann Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann ( ; ; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian mathematician and Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics and the statistical ex ...
, Austrian physicist *
Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...
, Danish astronomer *
Gustav Hertz Gustav Ludwig Hertz (; 22 July 1887 – 30 October 1975) was a German atomic physicist who shared the 1925 Nobel Prize in Physics with James Franck "for their discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom". Biography ...
, German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics * Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics * William Vermillion Houston, American physicist *
Edward Teller Edward Teller (; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian and American Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist and chemical engineer who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" and one of the creators of ...
, Hungaro-American nuclear scientist, member of the Manhattan Project *
Peter Debye Peter Joseph William Debye ( ; born Petrus Josephus Wilhelmus Debije, ; March 24, 1884 – November 2, 1966) was a Dutch-American physicist and physical chemist, and Nobel laureate in Chemistry. Biography Early life Born in Maastricht, Neth ...
, Dutch-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry *
Wilhelm Ostwald Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (; – 4 April 1932) was a Latvian chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst and Svante Arrhenius. ...
, German chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry *
Emil Kraepelin Emil Wilhelm Georg Magnus Kraepelin (; ; 15 February 1856 – 7 October 1926) was a German psychiatrist. H. J. Eysenck's Encyclopedia of Psychology identifies him as the founder of modern scientific psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychiatric ...
, German Psychiatrist *
Paul Ehrlich Paul Ehrlich (; 14 March 1854 – 20 August 1915) was a Nobel Prize-winning German physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology, immunology and antimicrobial chemotherapy. Among his foremost achievements were finding a cure fo ...
, German doctor, Nobel Prize in Medicine *
Svante Pääbo Svante Pääbo (; born 20 April 1955) is a Swedish geneticist and Nobel Laureate who specialises in the field of evolutionary genetics. As one of the founders of paleogenetics, he has worked extensively on the Neanderthal genome. In 1997, he ...
, Nobel Prize in Medicine, currently teaches molecular evolutionary biology at the university * Felix Otto, German mathematician, currently teaches mathematical physics at the university *
Gustav Theodor Fechner Gustav Theodor Fechner (; ; 19 April 1801 – 18 November 1887) was a German physicist, philosopher, and experimental psychologist. A pioneer in experimental psychology and founder of psychophysics (techniques for measuring the mind), he inspired ...
, German psychologist, founder of Psychophysics * Maximilian von Frey, physiologist, inventor of the esthesiometer *
Ernst Heinrich Weber Ernst Heinrich Weber (; ; 24 June 1795 – 26 January 1878) was a German physician who is considered one of the founders of experimental psychology. Ernst Weber was born into an academic background, with his father serving as a professor at t ...
, German physician and professor whose studies paved the way for the founding of
Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
* Katja Werthmann, German ethnologist, regional focus
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, full professor at Leipzig University *
Wilhelm Wundt Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (; ; 16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physiologist, philosopher, and professor, one of the fathers of modern psychology. Wundt, who distinguished psychology as a science from philosophy and biology, was t ...
, German psychologist, founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research *
Friedrich Trendelenburg Friedrich Trendelenburg (; ; 24 May 184415 December 1924) was a German surgeon. He was son of the philosopher Friedrich Adolf Trendelenburg, father of the pharmacologist Paul Trendelenburg, the physiologist Wilhelm Trendelenburg and of the pol ...
, German surgeon, described surgical removal of
pulmonary emboli Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...
Arch Klin Chir 86:686, 2908, 1908 * Dorothy Anna Hahn, American organic chemist, lifelong educator in organic chemistry at
Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...
*
Otto von Guericke Otto von Guericke ( , , ; spelled Gericke until 1666; – ) was a German scientist, inventor, mathematician and physicist. His pioneering scientific work, the development of experimental methods and repeatable demonstrations on the physics of ...
, German scientist, inventor, mathematician and physicist. * George Cecil Jaffe, Russian chemist, theorist of columnar ionisation.


Politics

*
Luo Gan Luo Gan (; born July 18, 1935) is a retired Chinese politician. Between 2002 and 2007, Luo was one of China's top leaders, serving as a member of the nine-man Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and as the Secretary of ...
, Chinese Politician, Member of the
Politburo Standing Committee The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) an ...
* Johann Major, German
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
theologian, a principal author of the so-called
Leipzig Interim The Leipzig Interim was one of several temporary settlements between the Emperor Charles V and German Lutherans following the Schmalkaldic War. It was presented to an assembly of Saxon political estates in December 1548. Though not adopted by the ...
, and author of the Majoristic Controversy *
Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...
, first female
German Chancellor The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. Th ...
*
Hans-Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...
, German politician, Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor * Rudolph Sohm, lawyer and
Church historian Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of th ...
*
Cai Yuanpei Cai Yuanpei (; 1868–1940) was a Chinese philosopher and politician who was an influential figure in the history of Chinese modern education. He made contributions to education reform with his own education ideology. He was the president of Peki ...
, president of Peking University and leading thinker in the early Chinese communist movement *
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
, first female
President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...
between 2006 and 2010 *
Selig Brodetsky Selig Brodetsky (; 10 February 1888 – 18 May 1954) was an English mathematician, a member of the World Zionist Executive, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the second president of the Hebrew University of Jerusal ...
, Israeli President of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
* Raila Amolo Odinga, Kenyan politician


Sports

* Luz Long, German Olympic long-jumper, noted for his sportsmanship


See also

* Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL) *
Leipzig school (sociology) The Leipzig school was a branch of sociology developed by a group of academics led by philosopher and sociologist Hans Freyer at the University of Leipzig, Germany in the 1930s. Freyer saw Nazism as an opportunity; many of his followers were poli ...
*
List of medieval universities The list of Medieval university, medieval universities comprises University, universities (more precisely, ''studium generale, studia generalia'') which existed in Europe during the Middle Ages.Rüegg 1992, pp. XIX–XX It also includes ...
*
List of universities in Germany This is a list of the university, universities in Germany, of which there are about seventy. The list also includes German ''Technische Universitäten'' (universities of technology), which have official and full university status, but usually foc ...


Notes


References


Literature

*
Scholars and Literati at the University of Leipzig (1409–1800)
i
Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae/RETE.


External links

* of Leipzig University
History of the Leipzig University
* {{Authority control 1400s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1409 establishments in Europe Educational institutions established in the 15th century Tourist attractions in Leipzig Universities and colleges in Saxony