Karl Ferdinand Ranke (26 May 1802, in Wiehe – 29 March 1876, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was a German educator and

classical philologist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and ot ...

. He was the brother of historian

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

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 ...

Friedrich Heinrich Ranke Friedrich Heinrich Ranke (30 November 1798 – 2 September 1876) was a German Protestant theologian. He was the brother of historian Leopold von Ranke (1795–1886) and the father of pediatrician Heinrich von Ranke (1830-1909) and anthropologist ...

(1798–1876) and Ernst Constantin Ranke (1815–1888). He studied

theology 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 ...

and philology 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 ...

, afterwards working as a schoolteacher at the

Francke Foundations The Francke Foundations (Franckesche Stiftungen), also known as Glauchasche Anstalten were founded in 1695 in Halle, Germany as a Christian, social and educational work by August Hermann Francke The Francke Foundations are today a non-profit ...

(Halle). In 1831 he was named director of the gymnasium in

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg became a center of in ...

, later transferring to

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

as successor to Friedrich August Grotefend as director of its gymnasium. In 1841 he became a professor at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, and during the following year, was appointed director of the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Berlin.ADB:Ranke, Karl Ferdinand
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

As a director of gymnasiums, he made important contributions towards the educational-methodical reorganization of the Prussian education system. In the field of classical philology, he was the author of significant works on

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

, et al. He also published biographies on classical scholars

Karl Otfried Müller Karl Otfried Müller ( la, Carolus Mullerus; 28 August 1797 – 1 August 1840) was a German scholar and Philodorian, or admirer of ancient Sparta, who introduced the modern study of Greek mythology. Biography He was born at Brieg (modern Brze ...

(1870) and

August Meineke Johann Albrecht Friedrich August Meineke (also ''Augustus Meineke''; ; 8 December 179012 December 1870), German classical scholar, was born at Soest in the Duchy of Westphalia. He was father-in-law to philologist Theodor Bergk.

(1871).

Selected works

* "Pollux et Lucianus. Commentatio", (1831). * ''Ueber den Ursprung Quedlinburgs. Ein historischer Versuch'', etc. (1833) – Origins at Quedlinburg. A historical experiment, etc. * "De Hesiodi Operibus et diebus commentatio", (1838) * ''Hesiodeische Studien'', (1840) – Hesiodic studies. * "De Aristophanis vita commentatio", (1846). * "De Xenophontis vita et scriptis commentatio", (1851). * ''Karl Otfried Müller ein Lebensbild'', (1870). * ''August Meineke; ein lebensbild'', (1871).WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by Karl Ferdinand Ranke

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranke, Karl Ferdinand 1802 births 1876 deaths People from Wiehe Heads of schools in Germany German classical philologists University of Halle alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen