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The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a
public research university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by
Frederick William III Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved. ...
, as the linear successor of the () which was founded in 1777. The University of Bonn offers many undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of subjects and has 544 professors. The University of Bonn is a member of the German U15 association of major research-intensive universities in Germany and has the title of "University of Excellence" under the
German Universities Excellence Initiative The Excellence Initiative of the German Council of Science and Humanities and the German Research Foundation (DFG) aims to promote cutting-edge research and to create outstanding conditions for young scholars at universities, to deepen coopera ...
. Bonn has 6 Clusters of Excellence, the most of any German university; the
Hausdorff Center for Mathematics The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) is a research center in Bonn, formed by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Mathematical Institute, Institute for Applied Mathematics, Institute for Nume ...
, the Matter and Light for Quantum Computing cluster, Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, PhenoRob: Research for the Future of Crop Production, the Immune Sensory System cluster, and ECONtribute: Markets and Public Policy. The University and State Library Bonn (ULB Bonn) is the central university and archive library of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and North Rhine-Westphalia; it holds more than five million volumes. among its notable alumni, faculty and researchers are 11
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 ...
, 5
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
ists, 12 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winners as well as some of the most gifted minds in Natural science, e.g.
August Kekulé Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz ( , ; 7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896), was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekulé was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially ...
,
Heinrich Hertz Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (; ; 22 February 1857 – 1 January 1894) was a German physicist who first conclusively proved the existence of the electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. Biography Heinri ...
and
Justus von Liebig Justus ''Freiherr'' von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 18 April 1873) was a Germans, German scientist who made major contributions to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of chemistry, as well as to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry; he is ...
; Eminent mathematicians, such as
Karl Weierstrass Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; ; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the " father of modern analysis". Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics and trained as a school t ...
,
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 ...
,
Friedrich Hirzebruch Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch ForMemRS (17 October 1927 – 27 May 2012) was a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation. He has been described as ...
and
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 ...
; Major philosophers, such as
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 ...
,
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) ...
, and
Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas ( , ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt S ...
; German poets and writers, for example
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...
,
Paul Heyse Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse (; 15 March 1830 – 2 April 1914) was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the '' Tunnel über der Spree'' in Berlin and '' Die Krokodile'' in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry ...
and
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
; Painters, like
Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...
; Political theorists, for instance
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, author, and political theorist. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. An authoritarian conservative theorist, he was noted as a critic of ...
and Otto Kirchheimer; Statesmen, viz.
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
and
Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...
; economists, like
Walter Eucken Walter Eucken (; 17 January 1891 – 20 March 1950) was a German economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism. Ordoliberalism was based on the concept of social market economy balancing free markets with regulatory oversight. The ...
,
Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 8 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social gro ...
and
Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Harvard Unive ...
; and furthermore
Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...
,
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
and
Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
.


History


Foundation

The university's forerunner was the (English: 'Academy of the
Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...
of
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
') which was founded in 1777 by Maximilian Frederick of Königsegg-Rothenfels (who was also one of the first employers of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
), the prince-elector of Cologne. In the spirit of the
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
the new academy was nonsectarian. The academy had schools for
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
,
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
,
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
and general studies. In 1784
Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...
granted the academy the right to award academic degrees (''Licentiat'' and Ph.D.), turning the academy into a university. The academy was closed in 1798 after the left bank of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
was occupied by France during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
. The
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
became a part of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
in 1815 as a result of the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
. King
Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...
thereafter decreed the establishment of a new university in the new province (German: ) on 18 October 1818. At this time there was no university in the Rhineland, as all three universities that existed until the end of the 18th century were closed as a result of the French occupation. The Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn was one of these three universities. The other two were the Roman Catholic
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
and the Protestant
University of Duisburg The old University of Duisburg was a university in Duisburg, Germany. History Its origins date back to the 1555 decision to create a university for the unified duchies at the Lower Rhine that were later to be merged into Prussia. After the foundati ...
.


Rhine University

The new Rhine University (German: ) was then founded on 18 October 1818 by Frederick William III. It was the sixth Prussian University, founded after the universities in
Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin and Neubrandenburg. In 2021 it surpa ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
,
Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
, Halle and Breslau. The new university was equally shared between the two Christian denominations. This was one of the reasons why Bonn, with its tradition of a nonsectarian university, was chosen over Cologne and Duisburg. Apart from a school of Roman Catholic theology and a school of Protestant theology, the university had schools for medicine, law and philosophy. Initially 35 professors and eight adjunct professors were teaching in Bonn. The university constitution was adopted in 1827. In the spirit of
Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a German philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In 1949, the university was named aft ...
the constitution emphasized the autonomy of the university and the unity of teaching and research. Similar to the
University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, which was founded in 1810, the new constitution made the University of Bonn a modern research university. Only one year after the inception of the Rhein University the
dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
August von Kotzebue August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (, ; – ) was a German playwright, who had also worked as a Russian diplomat. In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a ...
was murdered by
Karl Ludwig Sand Karl Ludwig Sand (Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia (then in Prussia), 5 October 1795 – Mannheim, 20 May 1820) was a German university student and member of a liberal Burschenschaft (student association). He was executed in 1820 for the murder of the ...
, a student at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...
. The
Carlsbad Decrees The Carlsbad Decrees () were a set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after a conference held in the spa town of Carlsbad, Austrian Empire. ...
, introduced on 20 September 1819 led to a general crackdown on universities, the dissolution of the
Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...
en and the introduction of censorship laws. One victim was the author and poet
Ernst Moritz Arndt Ernst Moritz Arndt (26 December 1769 – 29 January 1860) was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Swed ...
, who, freshly appointed university professor in Bonn, was banned from teaching. Only after the death of Frederick William III in 1840 was he reinstated in his professorship. Another consequence of the
Carlsbad Decrees The Carlsbad Decrees () were a set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after a conference held in the spa town of Carlsbad, Austrian Empire. ...
was the refusal by Frederick William III to confer the chain of office, the official seal and an official name to the new university. The Rhine University was thus nameless until 1840, when the new King of Prussia,
Frederick William IV Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the " romanticist on the t ...
gave it the official name . (This last sentence conflicts with pg. 176 of , which states a cabinet order on 28 June 1828 gave the university the following name: .) Despite these problems, the university grew and attracted scholars and students. At the end of the 19th century the university was also known as the (English: 'Princes' university'), as many of the sons of the king of Prussia studied here. In 1900, the university had 68 chairs, 23 adjunct chairs, two honorary professors, 57
Privatdozent ''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 qualifi ...
en and six lecturers. Since 1896, women were allowed to attend classes as guest auditors at universities in Prussia. In 1908 the University of Bonn became fully coeducational.


World Wars

The growth of the university came to a halt with
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Financial and economic problems in Germany in the aftermath of the war resulted in reduced government funding for the university. The University of Bonn responded by trying to find private and industrial sponsors. In 1930 the university adopted a new constitution. For the first time students were allowed to participate in the self-governing university administration. To that effect the
student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...
Astag (German: ) was founded the same year. Members of the student council were elected in a secret ballot. After the Nazi takeover of power in 1933, the
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...
transformed the university into a Nazi educational institution. According to the
Führerprinzip The (, ''Leader Principle'') was the basis of authority, executive authority in the government of Nazi Germany. It placed the Führer's word above all written law, and meant that Law of Nazi Germany, government policies, decisions, and officia ...
the autonomous and self-governing administration of the university was replaced by a hierarchy of leaders resembling the military, with the university president being subordinate to the ministry of education. Jewish professors and students and political opponents were ostracized and expelled from the university. The theologian
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...
was forced to resign and to emigrate to Switzerland for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. The Jewish mathematician
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 ...
was expelled from the university in 1935 and committed suicide after learning about his impending deportation to a concentration camp in 1942. The philosophers Paul Ludwig Landsberg and Johannes Maria Verweyen were deported and died in
concentration camps A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
. In 1937
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
was deprived of his honorary doctorate. His honorary degree was restored in 1946. During 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 ...
the university suffered heavy damage. An air raid on 18 October 1944 destroyed the main building.


Post-war to Modern Day

The university was re-opened on 17 November 1945 as one of the first in the
British occupation zone The British occupation zone in Germany (German: ''Britische Besatzungszone Deutschlands'') was one of the Allied-occupied areas in Germany after World War II. The United Kingdom, along with the Commonwealth, was one of the three major Allied po ...
. The first university president was Heinrich Matthias Konen, who had been expelled from the university in 1934 because of his opposition to
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
. At the start of the first semester on 17 November 1945 the university had more than 10,000 applicants for only 2,500 places. The university greatly expanded in the postwar period, in particular in the 1960s and 1970s. Significant events of the postwar era were the relocation of the university hospital from the city center to Venusberg in 1949, the opening of the new university library in 1960 and the opening of a new building, the Juridicum, for the School of Law and Economics in 1967. In 1980 the Pedagogical University Bonn was merged into the University of Bonn, although eventually all the teachers education programs were closed in 2007. In 1983 the new science library was opened. In 1989
Wolfgang Paul Wolfgang Paul (; 10 August 1913 – 7 December 1993) was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what is now called an ion trap. He shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Ph ...
was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...
. Three years later
Reinhard Selten Reinhard Justus Reginald Selten (; 5 October 1930 – 23 August 2016) was a German economics, economist, who won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with John Harsanyi and John Forbes Nash, John Nash). He is also well ...
was awarded the
Nobel Prize in Economics The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (), commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics(), is an award in the field of economic sciences adminis ...
. The decision of the German government to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin after the
reunification A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller politics or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal govern ...
in 1991 resulted in generous compensation for the city of Bonn. The compensation package included three new research institutes affiliated or closely collaborating with the university, thus significantly enhancing the research profile of the University of Bonn. In the 2000s the university implemented the
Bologna process file:Bologna-Prozess-Logo.svg, 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo file:Bologna zone.svg, alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements b ...
and replaced the traditional
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 ...
and Magister programs with Bachelor and Master programs. This process was completed by 2007.


Campus

The University of Bonn does not have a centralized campus. The main building is the '' Kurfürstliches Schloss'', the former residential palace of the prince-elector of Cologne in the city center. The main building was built by
Enrico Zuccalli Enrico Zuccalli (''Johann Heinrich Zuccalli''; c. 1642 – 8 March 1724) was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne. Biography Zuccalli was born in Roveredo, then part of the Republic of the Three L ...
for the prince-elector of Cologne,
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Joseph Clemens of Bavaria () (4 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and also served as the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723. Biography The third son of Ferdinand Maria, El ...
from 1697 to 1705. Today it houses the faculty of humanities and theology and the university administration. The , a large park in front of the main building is a popular place for students to meet, study and relax. The Hofgarten was repeatedly the place for political demonstrations as for example the demonstration against the
NATO Double-Track Decision The NATO Double-Track Decision was the decision by NATO from December 12, 1979, to offer the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles amidst the Soviet invasion o ...
on 22 October 1981 with about 250,000 participants. The school of law and economics, the main university library and several smaller departments are housed in modern buildings a short distance south of the main building. The department of psychology and the department of computer science are located in a northern suburb of Bonn. The science departments and the main science library are located in Poppelsdorf and Endenich, west of the city center, and housed in a mix of historical and modern buildings. Notable is the
Poppelsdorf Palace Poppelsdorf Palace (German: ''Poppelsdorfer Schloss'') is a Baroque building in the Poppelsdorf district of Bonn, western Germany, which is now part of the University of Bonn. Design and construction The design of a new structure to replace t ...
(German: ), which was built from 1715 to 1753 by
Robert de Cotte Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...
for
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Joseph Clemens of Bavaria () (4 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and also served as the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723. Biography The third son of Ferdinand Maria, El ...
and his successor
Clemens August of Bavaria Clemens August of Bavaria () (17 August 1700 – 6 February 1761) was an 18th-century member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. Biography Clemens August (Clementus Augustus) was born in Brussels, the son of ...
. Today the Poppelsdorf Palace houses the university's mineral collection and several science departments; its grounds are the university's
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
(the
Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn The Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (6.5 hectares open to public, 3 hectares private), also known as the Botanischer Garten Bonn, is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Bonn. It is located ...
). The school of medicine is located on the Venusberg, a hill on the western edge of Bonn. Several residence halls are scattered across the city. In total the University of Bonn owns 371 buildings.


University Library

The university library was founded in 1818 and started with 6,000 volumes inherited from the library of the closed
University of Duisburg The old University of Duisburg was a university in Duisburg, Germany. History Its origins date back to the 1555 decision to create a university for the unified duchies at the Lower Rhine that were later to be merged into Prussia. After the foundati ...
. In 1824 the library became
legal deposit Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The number of copies required varies from country to country. Typically, the national library is the primary reposit ...
for all books published in the Prussian Rhine province. The library contained about 200,000 volumes at the end of the 19th century, and about 600,000 volumes at the outbreak of
World War II 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 ...
. An air raid on 10 October 1944 destroyed about 200,000 volumes and a large part of the
library catalog A library catalog (or library catalogue in British English) is a register of all bibliography, bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations. A catalog for a group of libra ...
. After the war the library was housed in several makeshift locations until the completion of the new central library in 1960. The new building was designed by
Pierre Vago Pierre Vago (30 August 1910, in Budapest – 1 February 2002, in Noisy-sur-École) was a French architect. Vago was known internationally as the publisher of ''L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui'' and General Secretary of the International Union of Ar ...
and Fritz Bornemann and is located close to the main building. In 1983 a new library building was opened in Poppelsdorf, west of the main building. The new library building houses the science, agriculture and medicine collections. Today, the university library system comprises the central library, the library for science, agriculture and medicine and about 160 smaller libraries. It holds 2.2 million volumes and subscribes to about 14,000 journals.


University Hospital

The university hospital (German: ) was founded at the same time as the university and officially opened on 5 May 1819 in the former Electoral Palace (German: ), the main building, in the western wing (internal medicine) and on the second floor (obstetrics). In its first year, the hospital had thirty beds, performed 93 surgeries and treated about 600 outpatients. From 1872 to 1883 the hospital moved to a new complex of buildings in the city center of Bonn, where today the Beethoven Concert Hall stands, and after
World War II 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 ...
to the Venusberg on the western edge of Bonn. On 1 January 2001 the university hospital became a public corporation. Although the university hospital is since then independent from the university, the School of Medicine of the University of Bonn and the university hospital closely collaborate. Today the university hospital comprises about thirty individual hospitals, employs more than 990 physicians and more than 1,100 nursing and clinical support staff and treated about 50,000 inpatients.


University Museums

The
Akademisches Kunstmuseum Akademisches Kunstmuseum (Academic Art Museum) is an art museum in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the oldest museums in Bonn and houses the antique collection of the University of Bonn with more than 2,700 plaster casts of antique statues and relief ...
(English: 'Academic Museum of Antiquities') was founded in 1818 and has one of the largest collections of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the world. At this time collections of plaster casts were mainly used in the instruction of students at art academies. They were first used in the instruction of university students in 1763 by
Christian Gottlob Heyne Christian Gottlob Heyne (; 25 September 1729 – 14 July 1812) was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library. He was a member of the Göttingen school of history. ...
at
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
. The Akademisches Kunstmuseum in Bonn was the first of its kind, as at this time collections at other universities were scattered around universities libraries. The first director was
Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker (4 November 1784 – 17 December 1868) was a German classical philologist and archaeologist. Biography Welcker was born at Grünberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. Having studied classical philology at the University of Giesse ...
, who also held a professorship of archaeology. His tenure was from 1819 until his retirement in 1854. He was succeeded by
Otto Jahn Otto Jahn (; 16 June 1813, in Kiel – 9 September 1869, in Göttingen), was a German archaeologist, philologist, and writer on art and music. Biography After the completion of his university studies at Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, ...
and
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (6 April 1806 – 9 November 1876), a first cousin of theologian Albrecht Ritschl, was a German scholar best known for his studies of Plautus. Biography Ritschl was born in Großvargula, in present-day Thuringia. Hifa ...
, who shared the directorship. From 1870 to 1889
Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz (name at birth Kekulé, called Kekulé von Stradonitz only after 1889; 6 March 1839 – 23 March 1911) was a German archeologist. He has been called the founder of modern iconology (Langlotz). He served as director ...
, nephew of the organic chemist
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' *Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' Other *Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
, was the director. In 1872 the museum moved to a new building that was formerly used by the department of anatomy. The building was constructed from 1823 to 1830 and designed by
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, urban planning, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed b ...
and
Hermann Friedrich Waesemann Hermann Friedrich Waesemann (6 June 1813 – 28 January 1879) was a German architect. He was born in Danzig (Gdańsk), the son of an architect. He studied mathematics and science in Bonn from 1830 to 1832, before going to Berlin to study ...
. Other directors of the museum were
Georg Loeschcke Georg Loeschcke (28 June 1852 – 26 November 1915) was a German archaeologist born in Penig, Saxony. He studied archaeology under Johannes Overbeck at Leipzig, afterwards continuing his education at the University of Bonn, where he was a stu ...
(from 1889 to 1912), Franz Winter (from 1912 to 1929),
Richard Delbrück Richard Delbrück (; 14 July 1875, Jena – 22 August 1957, Bonn) was a German classical archaeologist who specialized in the field of ancient Roman portraiture. Career In 1899 he graduated from the University of Bonn, where he was a studen ...
(from 1929 to 1940), Ernst Langlotz (from 1944 to 1966), Nikolaus Himmelmann (from 1969 to 1994) and Harald Mielsch (since 1994). All directors, with the exception of
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl (6 April 1806 – 9 November 1876), a first cousin of theologian Albrecht Ritschl, was a German scholar best known for his studies of Plautus. Biography Ritschl was born in Großvargula, in present-day Thuringia. Hifa ...
held a professorship of archaeology at the university. The
Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
(German: ) was founded in 2001. The collection dates back to the 19th century and was formerly part of the Akademisches Kunstmuseum. Large parts of the collection were destroyed in World War II. Today the collection comprises about 3,000 objects. The
Arithmeum The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum owned by the Forschungsinstitut für Diskrete Mathematik (Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics) at the University of Bonn. It was founded in 2008 by the director of the institute, Bernhard Korte, who ...
was opened in 1999. With over 1,200 objects it has the world's largest collection of historical mechanical calculating machines. The museum is affiliated with the Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics. The Teaching Collection of Archaeology and Anthropology (German: ) was opened in 2008. The collection comprises more than 7,500 objects of mostly pre-Columbian art. The
Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
was officially founded in 1818 and is located around the Poppelsdorf Palace. A garden existed at the same place at least since 1578, and around 1720 a Baroque garden was built for
Clemens August of Bavaria Clemens August of Bavaria () (17 August 1700 – 6 February 1761) was an 18th-century member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. Biography Clemens August (Clementus Augustus) was born in Brussels, the son of ...
. The first director of the Botanical Garden was Nees von Esenbeck from 1818 to 1830. In May 2003 the world's largest
titan arum The titan arum (''Amorphophallus titanum'') is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It has a large unbranched inflorescence; a tall single leaf, branched like a tree; and a heavy tuber which enables the plant to produce the inflorescence. ' ...
, some 2.74 meters high, flowered in the Botanical Garden for three days. The natural history museum was opened in 1820 by
Georg August Goldfuss Georg August Goldfuß (18 April 1782 – 2 October 1848) was a German palaeontologist, zoologist and botanist. He became a professor of zoology at the University of Erlangen and later at the University of Bonn. He coined the terms "protozoa" an ...
. It was the first public museum in the Rhineland. In 1882 it was split into the located in the Poppelsdorf Palace and a museum of palaeontology, now named . The Horst Stoeckel-Museum of the History of Anesthesiology (German: ) was opened in 2000 and is the largest of its kind in Europe. The
Museum Koenig The Museum Koenig Bonn, formerly Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (German: ''Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig'', abbreviated ZFMK), is a natural history museum and zoological research institution in Bonn, Germany. The mus ...
is one of the largest natural history museums in Germany and is affiliated with the university. The museum was founded in 1912 by Alexander Koenig, who donated his collection of mounted specimens to the public.


Organization

The University of Bonn has 32,500 students, and 4,000 of these are international students. Each year about 3,000 undergraduate students graduate. The university also confers about 800 Ph.D.s and about 60
habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
s. More than 90 programs in all fields are offered. Strong fields as identified by the university are
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
,
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
,
neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
,
medical genetics Medical genetics is the branch of medicine that involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to me ...
,
chemical biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline between the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and m ...
,
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
, Asian and
Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...
and Philosophy and Ethics. The university has more than 550 professors, an additional academic staff of 3,900 and an administrative staff of over 1,700. The annual budget was more than 570 million euros in 2016.


Faculties

From the foundation in 1818 to 1928 the University of Bonn had five faculties, that is, the Faculty of Catholic Theology, the Faculty of Protestant Theology, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts and Science. In 1928, the Faculty of Law and the Department of Economics, that until then was part of the Faculty of Arts and Science, merged into the new Faculty of Law and Economics. In 1934 the until then independent Agricultural University Bonn-Poppelsdorf (German: ) was merged into the University of Bonn as the Faculty of Agricultural Science. In 1936, the science departments were separated from the Faculty of Arts and Science. Today the university is divided into seven faculties.


Faculty of Protestant Theology

The Protestant Theological Faculty has existed at the University of Bonn since 1818 (Unlike other universities, only Bonn and the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Wroclaw, founded in 1811, had both a Catholic and a theological faculty). The thematic focuses are in the areas of "Texts of Theology", "Historical Theology", "Theory of Theology", "Theology in Dialogue with the Human Sciences" and "Ecumenical Theology". Other institutes of the faculty are the Institute of
Hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. As necessary, hermeneutics may include the art of understanding and communication. ...
and the Institute of
Ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
. The faculty is located in the main building of the university, where the Protestant Castle Church is also located. The university
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
is Eberhard Hauschildt. The faculty operates its own dormitory for students of Protestant theology. With 187 students, it is the smallest faculty of the University of Bonn. In teacher training, the Faculty of Protestant Theology cooperates with the Institute of Protestant Theology of the
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
. Numerous members of the faculty are also involved in the Center for Religion and Society of the university.


Faculty of Catholic Theology

The Faculty of Catholic Theology was also founded in 1818 with six chairs; it began teaching in the summer half of 1819. Today, the faculty comprises 13 chairs. A special feature is the workplace for theological gender research. With 243 students, it is also one of the small faculties of the university. It cooperates with the Institute for Catholic Theology of the University of Cologne and is part of the ZERG degree program. The Chair of Fundamental Theology was held by Joseph Ratzinger from 1959 to 1963, the later
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
.


Faculty of Agriculture

In 1934, the Faculty of Agriculture was established at the university. It originated from the former Agricultural University Poppelsdorf, which was founded in 1847. Today, the faculty has its scientific focus in the areas of "Agrar Systems Sensing Analysis and Management", "Food and Nutrition" and "Enlightenment of genetically determined metabolic functions in crops, farm animals and humans using molecular biological methods" (From Molecules to Function: Crop - Livestock - Human). Courses of study for students include Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional and Food Sciences, Animal Sciences, as well as Geodesy and
Geoinformation Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also ca ...
. The location of the faculty is the Poppelsdorf campus. The faculty has about 2,500 students. In the winter semester 2008/09, the Theodor Brinkman Research Training Group was established at the faculty. The faculty comprises the following seven institutes: * IEL - Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences, * IGG - Institute for Geodesy and Geoinformation, * ILR - Institute of Food and Resource Economics, * ILT - Institute of Agricultural Engineering, * INRES - Institute of Crop Sciences and Resource Protection * IOL - Institute of Organic Agriculture, * ITW - Institute of Animal Sciences.


Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences includes the subject groups
Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
,
Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
-
Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
,
Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Earth Sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
,
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
, Pharmacy and Molecular biomedicine, Molecular Biomedicine. In 1936, the natural science subjects were separated from the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences was founded.Thomas P. Becker: ''Geschichte der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität''
(Online)
With 7,636 students, it is now one of the largest faculties of the university. The locations are spread over the districts of Castell, Endenich and Poppelsdorf. The Department of Mathematics includes the Mathematical Institute, the Institute of Applied mathematics, Applied Mathematics, the Institute of Computer simulation, Numerical Simulation and the Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics. The Mathematical Institute (MI) and the Institute of Applied Mathematics moved into the building of the Rhineland Chamber of Agriculture in 2009. MI is currently organizing a Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG Graduiertenkolleg, Research Training Group on the topic of "Homotopy and Cohomology." In addition, the university has a cluster of excellence in the field of mathematics. For this reason, the
Hausdorff Center for Mathematics The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) is a research center in Bonn, formed by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Mathematical Institute, Institute for Applied Mathematics, Institute for Nume ...
was created. The Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics is one of the mathematical institutes of the university, but is not affiliated with the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, but reports directly to the Senate. Fields Medal, Fields medalist Peter Scholze was educated at and currently teaches in the department, and past fields medalists. It is part of the GlobalMathNetwork: École normale supérieure (Paris), École Normale Supérieure, New York University, Kyoto University, Peking University. The Bonn mathematics department also has established international partnerships with University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, University of Oxford and University of Warwick. The Informatics Section includes the Institute of Computer Science and the Bonn-Aachen International Center for Information Technology (b-it). They were founded in April 2011 and emerged from the Department of Mathematics/Computer Science. The ''Institute'' of ''Applied Mathematics and Computer Science'' was founded in 1969. This institute was divided into two independent institutes in 1975. The Institute of Computer Science has been using the computer science center on the Poppelsdorf campus together with b-it since 2018. The Institute of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science was founded in 1969. This institute was divided into two independent institutes in 1975. The Institute of Computer Science has been using the computer science center on the Poppelsdorf campus together with b-it since 2018. The Physics-Astronomy Section includes the Institute of Physics (PI), the Institute of Applied physics, Applied Physics (IAP), the Argelander Institute for Astronomy (AIfA) and the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics (HISKP). Together with the University of Cologne, Bonn hosts the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy, which is funded by Excellence Initiatives. The Institute of Physics operates the particle accelerator ELSA and organizes the Wolfgang Paul lectures. The chairs of theoretical physics as well as some of mathematics merged into the "Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics" in 2008. The Argelander Institute for Astronomy, named after the astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander, was founded in 2006 by the merger of the previous three astronomical university institutes: the Observatory, the Radio Astronomical Institute (RAIUB) and the Institute of Astrophysics and Extraterrestrial Research. When it was built 1864 to 1867, the Old Chemical Institute was the largest institute building in the world. Today it houses the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Geography. The Biology Section (2019) consists of eight institutes: Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Zooecology, Institute of Genetics, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Molecular Physiology and Biotechnology of Plants (IMBIO), Institute of Cell Biology, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany (IZMB), Institute of Zoology, Nees Institute for Biodiversity of The IZMB as well as parts of the IMBIO and the Institute of Genetics are located in the old Soennecken building. In addition, the Museum Koenig, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig and the Botanical Garden, Bonn, Botanical Gardens are associated with the Department Botanischer Garten Bonn, of Biology as a cooperating institute. The ''Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology'' has replaced the former separate Geological Institute, Mineralogical-Petrological Institute and Institute of Paleontology since 2007. It is divided into the departments of geochemistry/petrology, geology, paleontology and geophysics and recently, since the merger with the Meteorological Institute, also meteorology. In addition, he is integrated into the and the Paleontological ''.''


Faculty of Medicine

The Faculty of Medicine focuses on neurosciences, genetic foundations and genetic epidemiology of human diseases, hepato-gastroenterology, cardiovascular diseases and immunology and infectious diseases. The DFG Cluster of Excellence "ImmunoSensation: The Immune System as a Sensory Organ" approved in 2012 is largely located at the Faculty of Medicine. In the field of health care, there is a cooperation with the University Hospital Bonn. The majority of the buildings are located on Venusberg, but individual institutes are also in the city center. The institutes of the pre-clinic focus around the Anatomical Institute on Nußallee in the Poppelsdorf district. 2,699 students study at the faculty.


Faculty of Law, Economics and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Law and Political Science, which until the Second World War was housed in the main building and then provisionally in various places, received its newly built Juridicum in 1967, a building on Adenauerallee opposite the Beethoven-Gymnasium near the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn, University Library. The faculty currently has about 5,000 students and consists of the departments of Jurisprudence, law and
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
. The Faculty of Law currently comprises sixteen institutes for teaching. Since 1989, the Center for European Business Law has existed with an affiliated DFG Research Training Group on the subject of "Legal Issues of the European Financial Area" and a European Documentation Center. In addition, the Department of Political Science also includes the Institute for Water and Waste Management Law. This is a research institute whose task is to scientifically deal with the main questions of water law and to develop practical solutions. The Department of Economics comprises three institutes for academic teaching as well as the research institutions Bonn Graduate School of Economics, Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE), DFG Research Training Group on the topic of Quantitative Economics and the Laboratory for Experimental Economic Research or the Reinhard Selten Institute. Renowned and well-known members of the department are the economists Isabel Schnabel, the Leibniz Prize winner Armin Falk, Martin Hellwig and the Nobel laureate in economics, Nobel Prize winner
Reinhard Selten Reinhard Justus Reginald Selten (; 5 October 1930 – 23 August 2016) was a German economics, economist, who won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with John Harsanyi and John Forbes Nash, John Nash). He is also well ...
. The Institute for the Future of Work (IZA) and the Institute on Behaviour and Inequality (briq), are two research institutions also connected to the department. In addition, there is a cooperation with the University of California, Berkeley. In 2018, the department won the Cluster of Excellence "ECONtribute: Markets and & Public Policy" of the Excellence Initiative of the Federal and State Governments for the Reinhard Selten Institute.


Faculty of Arts

The Faculty of Arts includes the Institutes of English Studies, American Studies and Celtology, History, German Studies, Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Classic and Romance Philology, Communication Sciences, Oriental and Asian Studies, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology, Psychology, Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology and the Institute of Art History.With over 8,753 students, it is the largest faculty of the university. On the 4 May 1860, the first German-language chair for art history was established at the university; Anton Heinrich Springer, Anton Springer was appointed chair for Middle and Modern Art History. Today's Department of Art History at the Institute of Art History and Archaeology has emerged from this Institute of Art History. From the winter semester 2009/2010, the philosophical faculties of the University of Bonn and the
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
have worked together, so that in selected courses of study, it is possible for students to attend events in both
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
and
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. In February 2009, the "International Center for Philosophy North Rhine-Westphalia" was founded on an initiative of Wolfram Hogrebe. Since 2011, the Thomas Kling Poetry Lectureship has been awarded in cooperation with the Kunststiftung NRW. For the 200th anniversary of the university in 2018, 110 Bonn professors, especially from the Faculty of Humanities, presented the ''Bonn Encyclopedia of Globality'', edited by the political scientists Ludger Kühnhardt and Tilman Mayer. In addition, the following interdisciplinary centers have been set up: * Center for Aging Cultures (ZAK) * Center for Contemporary Historical Foundations (ZHGG) * Centre for the Classical Tradition (CCT) * Bonn Medieval Center (BMZ) * Center for Cultural Studies/Cultural Studies (ZfKW) * Bonn Asia Center (BAZ) * Center for Global Studies (CGS)


Student Life

The Bonn Studentenwerk (English: Student union) is one of the three oldest in Germany. ''Studentenwerke'' provide public services for the economic, social, medical and cultural support for students enrolled at German universities. In particular, they run university cafeterias, dormitories, and provide the ''BAföG'' program to finance studies with grants and loans. The national association includes multiple stakeholders of German society and collaborates with other students' affairs organizations worldwide. This includes the Uniradio BonnFM, Bonn University Shakespeare Company, Debating club of the University of Bonn (which was European Champion in 2006), and various sport clubs.


University Sports

The University of Bonn has one of the largest University Sports Complex, university sports companies in North Rhine-Westphalia, with around 200 sports facilities, 38 sports facilities throughout the city as well as two of its own sports facilities on Venusberg and Römerstraße in the Castell district of Bonn. With ''Hall 5'', the university also operates its own gym with equipment and course rooms for all strength and endurance sports. Rowing enjoys supra-regional importance within Bonn university sports. In their own boathouse on the banks of the Rhine, located between the two Bonn districts of Beuel and Limperich, the Bonn rowers have a diverse and modern boat park of training and racing boats at their disposal. The rowing team of the University of Bonn is one of the most traditional in the German Rowing Association and participates in regattas throughout Germany every year in partly mixed teams in four or eight. The highlight is the annual participation in the German university championships, where the Bonn rowers have repeatedly qualified for the respective final in recent years.


Academic Exchange

The Erasmus program gives students the opportunity to exchange with over 300 European higher education institutions. Moreover, the Global Exchange Program allows for study free of charge for one to two semesters at non-European partner universities of the University of Bonn. A selection of internationally leading universities in various countries that were available for Bonn exchange students in 2022 included: American University, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Australian National University, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Charles University, Charles University Prague, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Complutense University of Madrid, Durham University, Eötvös Loránd University, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Higher School of Economics, HSE Moscow, Korea University, KU Leuven, Kyoto University, Leiden University, National University of Singapore, Paris-Saclay University, ENSAE ParisTech, Politecnico di Milano, Pompeu Fabra University, Queen's University Belfast, Sapienza University of Rome, Sciences Po, Seoul National University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sorbonne University, Stockholm University, Stony Brook University, Tel Aviv University, TU Eindhoven, University College London, University of Amsterdam, University of Barcelona, University of British Columbia, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, San Diego, University of Cambridge, University of Chile, University of Coimbra, University of Copenhagen, University of Florida, University of Geneva, University of Glasgow, University of Helsinki, University of Hong Kong, University of Lisbon, University of Milan, University of Oslo, University of Oxford, University of St Andrews, University of Tennessee, University of Toronto, University of Toulouse, University of Vienna, University of Warsaw, University of Warwick, Waseda University, Weizmann Institute of Science.


Future development


Infrastructure

The university and North Rhine-Westphalia state construction and real estate agency is investing €2 billion in refurbishing existing buildings and new construction. One project currently under construction is the €55 million project constructing a 'Teaching and Research Forum I & II' that is expected to be completed by 2024. This will become a central research hub with lecture halls, a library and seminar rooms for the Economics department, the Clusters of Excellence, the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics, HPCA, and DiCe. By mid-2023 the €45 million research building for the new Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change of the Museum Koenig, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig will be completed; this will allow for more collaborative research between the museum and the Department of Biology, and will house a data center, laboratories, a biobank, a cryogenic storage facility, spaces for collections, and a library. The University of Bonn is also currently replacing its chemistry building with a new €37.2 million five-story building for the chemical institutes that will house 17,750 square feet of laboratory space and 6,500 square feet of office space by 2023. From 2022, the
Akademisches Kunstmuseum Akademisches Kunstmuseum (Academic Art Museum) is an art museum in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the oldest museums in Bonn and houses the antique collection of the University of Bonn with more than 2,700 plaster casts of antique statues and relief ...
has been under renovation by the North Rhine-Westphalia state construction agency and expected to be completed by 2025. It will also accommodate the library, offices and lecture hall for the classical archaeology department, including providing access for teaching purposes to items in the collection.Over €1 billion is being spent on the main building, the Electoral Palace, which will be out of service for several years and completed in 2030; this includes work on fire protection, re-wiring, and plumbing, as well as modernization of lecture halls, common areas, and offices. The Humanities departments are being accommodated in the former Zurich Insurance Group, Zurich Insurance building on Rabinstraße throughout the construction works, while the administrative staff are being housed in the former Deutscher Herold headquarters. Both temporary locations have been equipped with library areas, seminar rooms and meeting rooms. In addition, by 2031 €128 million will be spent on a 'Forum of Knowledge' which will extend the main building on a site spanning several tens of thousands of square feet, and will be open to members of the university and city residents. The university is also planning spaces for study spaces, shops, catering, and bike parking in the extension.


Internationalization

A strategic objective of the University of Bonn since 2015 has been Internationalization, increasing internationality in the areas of research, teaching, and administration. With this aim, since 2015 six international transdisciplinary research areas and six clusters of excellence were formed, Bonn ranked second in Germany for international co-publications in the Nature Index 2018, The Bonn International Graduate Schools (BIGS) system was expanded to twelve graduate schools, and there was continuation of the "International Doctorate" program with German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD. The current strategic research aims for 2025 are to increase percentage of non-German national professors to 15% of total, increase the number of joint international research projects being conducted, increase application filing and approval rates in European Union research funding programs, to build up and expand European research and innovation networks, and to raise the international profile of the Bonn International Graduate Schools (BIGS). This will include formation of a global network with the existing strategic partner universities and establishing new partners for research, teaching and administration, continuation of efforts to build up the European University of Brain and Technology (NeurotechEU) within the European University Network funding framework, choosing at least two countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America as focus countries for international cooperation, and establishment of joint doctoral programs, and expansion of bi-national doctorate programs. The strategic teaching aims for 2025 are digital internationalization of study offerings and teaching, increasing the number of English-language bachelor's degree modules, increasing the number of incoming international exchange students (in particular Bachelor's degree, bachelors programs), increase outgoing student mobility through the Erasmus Programme, Global Exchange Program, improving access to underrepresented groups of students. This will include expanding the Bilingual lexical access, bilingually of services in central administration, enhancement of foreign language and intercultural competency acquisition opportunities as part of personnel staff skill development, further development of existing internationalization structures within the faculties, departments and institutes, digitalization of service structures for international students and academics at the University of Bonn, and increasing the University of Bonn's international marketing and public relations. Additional strategic objectives for the university are the increased bilateral cooperation between the University of Bonn and United Nations University, increased cooperation with international academic and science organizations active in Bonn, increased cooperation with Private sector, private-sector firms based in the region, increased cooperation with the City of Bonn on internationalization-relevant initiatives, and development of long-term internationalization plans aligned with the identity of the City of Bonn as a center for Sustainability and transformation plan, sustainability policy.


Academic profile


Research Institutes

The Franz Joseph Dölger-Institute studies the late antiquity and in particular the confrontation and interaction of Christians, Jews and Pagans in the late antiquity. The institute edits the , a German language encyclopedia treating the history of early Christians in late antiquity. The institute is named after the church historian Franz Joseph Dölger who was a professor of theology at the university from 1929 to 1940. The Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics focuses on discrete mathematics and its applications, in particular combinatorial optimization and the design of Integrated circuit, computer chips. The institute cooperates with IBM and Deutsche Post. Researchers of the institute optimized the chess computer IBM Deep Blue. The Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics "is a joint enterprise of theoretical physicists and mathematicians at various institutes of or connected with the University of Bonn. In the spirit of Hans Bethe it fosters research activities over a wide range of theoretical and mathematical physics." Activities of the Bethe Center include a short- and long-term visitors' program, workshops on dedicated research topics, regular Bethe Seminar Series, lectures and seminars for graduate students. The German Reference Center for Ethics in the Life Sciences (German: ) was founded in 1999 and is modeled after the ''National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature'' at Georgetown University. The center provides access to scientific information to academics and professionals in the fields of life science and is the only one of its kind in Germany. After the German government's decision in 1991 to move the capital of Germany from Bonn to Berlin, the city of Bonn received generous compensation from the federal government. This led to the foundation of three research institutes in 1995, of which two are affiliated with the university: * The Center for European Integration Studies (German: ) studies the legal, economic and social implications of the European integration process. The institute offers several graduate programs and organizes summer schools for students. * The Center for Development Research (German: ) studies global development from an interdisciplinary perspective and offers a doctoral program in international development. * The Center of Advanced European Studies and Research (CAESAR) is an interdisciplinary applied research institute. Research is conducted in the fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology and medical technology. The institute is a private foundation, but collaborates closely with the university. The Institute for the Study of Labor (German: ) is a private research institute that is funded by Deutsche Post. The institute concentrates on research on labor economics, but is also offering policy advice on labor market issues. The institute also awards the annual ''IZA Prize in Labor Economics''. The department of economics of the University of Bonn and the institute closely cooperate.The Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics (German: ) is part of the Max Planck Society, a network of scientific research institutes in Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 by
Friedrich Hirzebruch Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch ForMemRS (17 October 1927 – 27 May 2012) was a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation. He has been described as ...
. The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (German: ) was founded in 1966 as an institute of the Max Planck Society. It operates the radio telescope in Effelsberg. The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods (German: ) started as a research group in 1997 and was founded as an institute of the Max Planck Society in 2003. The institute studies collective goods from a legal and economic perspective. The Center for Economics and Neuroscience, founded in 2009 by Christian Elger, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winner Armin Falk, Martin Reuter and Bernd Weber, provides an international platform for interdisciplinary work in neuroeconomics. It includes the Laboratory for Experimental Economics that can carry out computer-based behavioral experiments with up to 24 participants simultaneously, two magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners for interactive behavioral experiments and functional imaging, as well as a biomolecular laboratory for genotyping different polymorphisms.


Research

University of Bonn researchers made fundamental contributions in the sciences and the humanities. In physics researchers developed the quadrupole ion trap and the Geissler tube, discovered radio waves, were instrumental in describing cathode rays and developed the variable star designation. In chemistry researchers made significant contributions to the understanding of alicyclic compounds and Benzene. In material science researchers have been instrumental in describing the lotus effect. In mathematics University of Bonn faculty made fundamental contributions to modern topology and algebraic geometry. The Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem, Lipschitz continuity, the Petri net, the Schönhage–Strassen algorithm, Faltings's theorem and the Toeplitz matrix are all named after University of Bonn mathematicians. University of Bonn economists made fundamental contributions to game theory and experimental economics. Thinkers that were faculty at the University of Bonn include the poet August Wilhelm Schlegel, the historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr, the theologians
Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...
and Pope Benedict XVI, Joseph Ratzinger and the poet
Ernst Moritz Arndt Ernst Moritz Arndt (26 December 1769 – 29 January 1860) was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Swed ...
. The university has nine collaborative research centres and five research units funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Science Foundation and attracts more than 75 million Euros in external research funding annually. The Excellence Initiative of the German government in 2006 resulted in the foundation of the
Hausdorff Center for Mathematics The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) is a research center in Bonn, formed by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Mathematical Institute, Institute for Applied Mathematics, Institute for Nume ...
as one of the seventeen national ''Clusters of Excellence'' that were part of the initiative and the expansion of the already existing Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE). The ''Excellence Initiative'' also resulted in the founding of the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (an honors Masters and PhD program, jointly with the
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
). Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics was founded in the November 2008, to foster closer interaction between mathematicians and theoretical physicists at Bonn. The center also arranges for regular visitors and seminars (on topics including String theory, Nuclear physics, Condensed matter etc.).


Rankings

In the QS World University Rankings for 2024, the university was positioned 239th globally and 14th nationally. Additionally, the university was ranked significantly higher in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, taking the 91st place worldwide and the 6th position within the country for the year 2023. Moreover, the university's highest ranking was achieved in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, where it was ranked 67th globally and 4th nationally in 2023. According to the QS rankings for Mathematics in 2023, it sits at 39th globally and is the leading institution nationally. The ARWU's 2022 Mathematics rankings further bolster this reputation, placing the university 15th in the world and maintaining its first-place national standing.


Strategic Partner Universities

The University of Bonn maintains a variety of relationships with renowned higher education institutions from around the globe. In addition to the numerous research collaborations of its scholars, institutes and faculties, the University of Bonn has a cross-faculty partnership network with over 70 higher education institutions worldwide. In 2023, Bonn built on its strategic partnerships with its existing partner universities and launched a global university network consisting of Emory University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of St Andrews, and Waseda University to foster collaboration in education, research, leadership and innovation.


Africa

* Ghana: University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST. * Kenya: University of Nairobi. * Morocco: Mohammed V University.


Asia and Oceania

* Australia: Australian National University, University of New South Wales, University of Melbourne * China: Peking University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Nanjing University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University * Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong * Japan: Keio University, Rikkyo University, Sophia University, University of Tsukuba, Kyoto University, Waseda University, University of Tokyo * Singapore: National University of Singapore * South Korea: Korea University, Seoul National University, Sogang University * Taiwan: National Chengchi University, National Taiwan University, Tamkang University


Europe

* Czechia: Charles University. * France: , Paris Sciences et Lettres University, Paris-Saclay University, Sorbonne University, University of Strasbourg, University of Toulouse * Italy: University of Florence. * Luxembourg: University of Luxembourg. * Netherlands: Wageningen University & Research. * Poland: Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, University of Warsaw, University of Wrocław. * Spain: Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, University of León, University of Salamanca. * Switzerland: University of Basel. * United Kingdom: University of St Andrews, University of Warwick, University of Oxford.


North and South America

* Brazil: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro * Chile: University of Talca, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, University of Chile * Canada: University of British Columbia, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, McGill University, York University * Mexico: Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla * United States of America: Emory University, Kalamazoo College, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University, Stony Brook University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Florida, University of Kansas, University of Missouri–St. Louis, University of New Mexico, University of Southern Mississippi, University of Mississippi, University of Tennessee, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Washington State University


Middle East

* Afghanistan: Kabul University. * Israel: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Technion, Reichman University, Weizmann Institute of Science.


Regional Networks

* ABCD-J: RWTH Aachen University, RWTH Aachen,
University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Forschungszentrum Jülich * Bonn-Frankfurt-Mainz: Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Mainz


Subject Specific

Bonn has close ties to other universities through the following international research networks: * GlobalMathNetwork: École normale supérieure (Paris), École Normale Supérieure, New York University, Kyoto University, Peking University, University of Warwick, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, Princeton University * European Doctoral Programme in Quantitative Economics: Pompeu Fabra University, European University Institute, London School of Economics, KU Leuven, HEC Paris, Tel Aviv University * TAKeOFF: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, LMU Munich, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, KNUST, Tanzania, Tanzania Institute for Medical Research, University of Buea * Agricultural Innovation: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, LMU Munich, University of Hohenheim, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, FARA, AGRODEP * European Culture and Identity: Sorbonne University, University of Florence, University of Toulouse, University of St Andrews, University of Salamanca, University of Warsaw, University of Freiburg, Sofia University, University of California, Irvine * UN-Bonn-Tokyo: United Nations University


Notable people

To date, eleven Nobel Prizes and five
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of Mathematicians, International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place e ...
s have been awarded to faculty and alumni of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn: * Nobel Prize: ** Emil Fischer, alumni: chemistry, 1902 ** Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, alumni: chemistry, 1901 ** Harald zur Hausen, alumni: physiology and medicine, 2008 ** Walter Rudolf Hess, faculty member: physiology and medicine, 1949 **
Reinhard Selten Reinhard Justus Reginald Selten (; 5 October 1930 – 23 August 2016) was a German economics, economist, who won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with John Harsanyi and John Forbes Nash, John Nash). He is also well ...
, faculty member: economics, 1994 **
Wolfgang Paul Wolfgang Paul (; 10 August 1913 – 7 December 1993) was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what is now called an ion trap. He shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Ph ...
, faculty member: physics, 1989 ** Luigi Pirandello, alumni: literature, 1934 ** Otto Wallach, faculty member: chemistry, 1910 ** Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse, alumni: literature, 1910 ** Philipp Lenard, faculty member: physics, 1905 ** Reinhard Genzel, alumni: physics, 2020 * Fields Medal: ** Gerd Faltings, 1986 ** Maxim Kontsevich, 1998 ** Gregori Margulis, 1978 ** Peter Scholze, 2018 ** Maryna Viazovska, 2022 Some of the numerous well-known faculty members and alumni of the University of Bonn: * In Humanities: Image:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078072-0004, Konrad Adenauer.jpg,
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
was Chancellor of Germany (1949–present), Chancellor of Germany from 1949 to 1963 Image:Ernst_Moritz_Arndt_(cropped).gif,
Ernst Moritz Arndt Ernst Moritz Arndt (26 December 1769 – 29 January 1860) was a German nationalist historian, writer and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany. Arndt had to flee to Swed ...

Historian, writer, poet and one of the founders of 19th century movement for German unification Image:Pope Benedict XVI 2.jpg,
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

Head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State Image:Joseph Karl Stieler's Beethoven mit dem Manuskript der Missa solemnis.jpg, Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer and pianist Image:Max_bruch.jpg, Max Bruch
Composer and conductor Image:FranzBoas.jpg, Franz Boas
Anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0630-504, Heinrich Brüning.jpg, Heinrich Brüning
Chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932 Image:Einde bezoek bondskanselier dr Ludwig Erhard en gaf persconferentie in het Haag, Bestanddeelnr 916-1330.jpg, Ludwig Erhard
The second Chancellor of (West) Germany from 1963 to 1966 Image:Konrad Duden 1829-1911.jpg, Konrad Duden
Philologist and founder of the German language dictionary Duden Image:Walter_Eucken2.jpg,
Walter Eucken Walter Eucken (; 17 January 1891 – 20 March 1950) was a German economist of the Freiburg school and father of ordoliberalism. Ordoliberalism was based on the concept of social market economy balancing free markets with regulatory oversight. The ...

Economist of the Freiburg school, father of ordoliberalism and developer of the concept of social market economy File:Emperor Friedrich III.png, Frederick III, German Emperor, Frederick III
German Emperor File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1968-101-20A, Joseph Goebbels.jpg, Joseph Goebbels
Nazi politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany File:Habermas10 (14298469242).jpg,
Jürgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas ( , ; ; born 18 June 1929) is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere. Associated with the Frankfurt S ...

Philosopher and sociologist File:Heinrich Heine-Oppenheim.jpg,
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

Poet, writer and literary critic File:Moses-Hess.jpg, Moses Hess
Philosopher and a founder of Labor Zionism File:AxelHonneth2.JPG, Axel Honneth
Philosopher and director of the ''Institut für Sozialforschung'' File:Sheik-Umarr Mikailu Jah.jpg, Sheik-Umarr Mikailu Jah
Surgeon & Politician File:2017-03-26 Oskar Lafontaine by Sandro Halank–3.jpg, Oskar Lafontaine
Served as Minister-President of Saarland, as Germanys Minister of Finance, as party leader of the German Social-Democratic Party, SPD and later of The Left (Germany), The Left File:Grundsteinlegung MiQua-7004 (cropped).jpg, Armin Laschet
Leader of the Christian Democratic Union, Leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU and the Minister-president of North Rhine-Westphalia File:2020-02-14 Christian Lindner (Bundestagsprojekt 2020) by Sandro Halank–2.jpg, Christian Lindner
Party leader of the Free Democratic Party of Germany, FDP File:Bernd Lucke (2014).jpg, Bernd Lucke
Economist and a founder of the ''Alternative for Germany, Alternative für Deutschland'' File:Thomas Mann in 1926.jpg, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning novelist
Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
File:Karl Marx 001.jpg,
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) ...

Philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist and socialist revolutionary File:Josef Mengele, Auschwitz. Album Höcker (cropped).jpg, Josef Mengele
Schutzstaffel (SS) officer, physician, anthropologist and Nazi war criminal File:2019-02-05 Andrea Nahles-4936.jpg, Andrea Nahles
Party leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD who served as Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs File:Nietzsche187a.jpg,
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 ...

Philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist File:Thilo Sarrazin Leipziger Buchmesse 2014.JPG, Thilo Sarrazin
Politician and writer of controversial books about Muslim immigrants in Germany File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-19000-2453, Robert Schuman.jpg,
Robert Schuman Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Robert Schuman (; 29 June 1886 – 4 September 1963) was a Luxembourg-born France, French statesman. Schuman was a Christian democrat, Christian democratic (Popular Republican Movement) political thinker and activist. ...

Statesman and one of the founding fathers of the European Union File:Joseph Schumpeter ekonomialaria.jpg,
Joseph Schumpeter Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Harvard Unive ...

Political economist File:Carl-Schurz.jpg, Carl Schurz
German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, reformer and 13th United States Secretary of the Interior File:Ferdinand Tönnies.jpg,
Ferdinand Tönnies Ferdinand Tönnies (; 26 July 1855 – 8 April 1936) was a German sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He was a significant contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for distinguishing between two types of social gro ...

Sociologist, economist and philosopher File:Ministru prezidents Valdis Dombrovskis tiekas ar Vācijas ārlietu ministru Gvido Vestervelli (7849819858) (cropped).jpg, Guido Westerwelle
Foreign Minister of Germany, Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011 and first openly gay person to hold any of these positions File:Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany - 1902.jpg, Wilhelm II of Germany
German Emperor
* In Natural Sciences: File:Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander 1852.jpg, Friedrich Wilhelm August Argelander
Astronomer File:Caratheodory Constantin Greek.JPG, Constantin Carathéodory
Mathematician File:Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet.jpg, Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet
Mathematician File:Gerd Faltings MFO.jpg, Gerd Faltings
Mathematician File:Emil-fischer.jpg, Emil Fischer
Organic Chemist File:Heinrich Geissler.jpg, Heinrich Geißler
Physicist and Inventor of the Geissler tube File:Reinhard Genzel.jpg, Reinhard Genzel
Astrophysicist File:Hausdorff 1913-1921.jpg,
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 ...

Mathematician File:Harald zur Hausen 03.jpg, Harald zur Hausen
Virologist File:Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.jpg,
Heinrich Hertz Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (; ; 22 February 1857 – 1 January 1894) was a German physicist who first conclusively proved the existence of the electromagnetic waves predicted by James Clerk Maxwell's equations of electromagnetism. Biography Heinri ...

Physicist File:Friedrich Hirzebruch.jpeg,
Friedrich Hirzebruch Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch ForMemRS (17 October 1927 – 27 May 2012) was a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation. He has been described as ...

Mathematician File:Heinrich Eduard Heine 1.jpg, Eduard Heine
Mathematician File:Walter Hess.jpg, Walter Rudolf Hess
Physiologist File:Frkekulé.jpg,
August Kekulé Friedrich August Kekulé, later Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz ( , ; 7 September 1829 – 13 July 1896), was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekulé was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially ...

Organic chemist File:Vant Hoff.jpg, Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff
Physical and Organic Chemist File:Felix Klein, ante 1897 - Accademia delle Scienze di Torino 0078 B.jpg,
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 ...

Mathematician File:MaximKontsevich.jpg, Maxim Kontsevich
Mathematical Physicist File:Wolfgang Krull 1967.png, Wolfgang Krull
Mathematician File:Phillipp Lenard in 1900.jpg, Philipp Lenard
Physicist File:MJK 20229 Harald Lesch (Republica 2018).jpg, Harald Lesch
Physicist, astronomer, natural philosopher, author, and television presenter File:Justus von Liebig NIH.jpg,
Justus von Liebig Justus ''Freiherr'' von Liebig (12 May 1803 – 18 April 1873) was a Germans, German scientist who made major contributions to the theory, practice, and pedagogy of chemistry, as well as to agricultural and biology, biological chemistry; he is ...

Founder of organic chemistry File:Maria von Linden in 1894.PNG, Maria von Linden
Bacteriologist and zoologist File:RLipschitz.jpeg, Rudolf Lipschitz
Mathematician File:Jacob Lueroth.jpeg, Jacob Lüroth
Mathematician and Discoverer of the t-Distribution File:Grigory Margulis 1978.jpg, Grigory Margulis
Mathematician File:Hermann Minkowski Portrait.jpg, Hermann Minkowski
Mathematician and Physicist File:Bonner-koepfe-friedrichstrasse-wolfgang-paul-07-2009-03.JPG,
Wolfgang Paul Wolfgang Paul (; 10 August 1913 – 7 December 1993) was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what is now called an ion trap. He shared one-half of the Nobel Prize in Ph ...

Physicist File:Carl adam petri.jpg, Carl Adam Petri
Computer Scientist and Mathematician File:Julius Plücker.jpg, Julius Plücker
Mathematician and Experimental Physicist File:Peter Scholze (cropped).jpg, Peter Scholze
Mathematician File:Schonhage1973 MFO3726.jpg, Arnold Schönhage
Computer Scientist and Mathematician File:Schur.jpg, Issai Schur
Mathematician File:Toeplitz.jpg, Otto Toeplitz
Mathematician File:Maryna Vazovska MFO 2013 crop.jpg, Maryna Viazovska
Mathematician File:Otto Wallach 1910.jpg, Otto Wallach
Organic Chemist File:Karl Weierstrass.jpg,
Karl Weierstrass Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass (; ; 31 October 1815 – 19 February 1897) was a German mathematician often cited as the " father of modern analysis". Despite leaving university without a degree, he studied mathematics and trained as a school t ...

Mathematician


See also

* List of early modern universities in Europe


References


External links

*
University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonn, University Of University of Bonn, Educational institutions established in 1818 Universities and colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia Tourist attractions in Bonn Deposit libraries Libraries in Bonn 1818 establishments in Prussia Holocaust locations in Germany Agricultural universities and colleges in Germany Frederick William III of Prussia