Friedrich Heinrich Ranke (30 November 1798 – 2 September 1876) was a German Protestant

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

. He was the brother of

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

(1795–1886) and the father of

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

Heinrich von Ranke (1830-1909) and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Johannes Ranke (1836-1916). He studied theology and

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

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 ...

, where he was a pupil of Heinrich Luden and

Johann Philipp Gabler Johann Philipp Gabler (4 June 1753 – 17 February 1826) was a German Protestant Christian theologian of the school of Johann Jakob Griesbach and Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Gabler was born at Frankfurt-am-Main. In 1772 he entered the University ...

. He then studied philosophy at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

(from 1817), afterwards working as a private schoolteacher in

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...

. In 1826 he was named pastor in the town of Rückersdorf.Ranke, Friedrich Heinrich
at Deutsche BiographieThe Church Review, Volume 29
edited by Nathaniel Smith Richardson, Henry Mason Baum, Edward Brenton Boggs In 1834 he relocated to Thurnau as dean and senior pastor, and several years later was appointed professor of theology at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

as a successor to

Hermann Olshausen Hermann Olshausen (21 August 1796 – 4 September 1839) was a German theologian. Biography Olshausen was born at Oldeslohe in Holstein. He was educated at the universities of Kiel (1814) and Berlin (1816), where he was influenced by Schleiermach ...

(1840). In 1842 he was appointed ''Konsistorialrat'' in

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

, followed by duties as ''Konsistorialrat'' and ''Hauptprediger'' in

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

. In 1866 he was appointed ''Oberconsistorialrat'' in Munich. He wielded considerable influence towards the implementation of the ''Erweckungsbewegung'' (revivalist movement) in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. He also promoted the development of the '' Innere Mission'', a German Protestant movement. Ranke was an opponent of theological rationalism.Sentence(s) based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

Published works

He was the author of lyrics to popular hymns, two of which are part of the present-day ''

Evangelisches Gesangbuch ''Evangelisches Gesangbuch'' (''EG''; , "Protestantism, Protestant song book") is the current hymnal of German-language congregations in Germany, Alsace and Lorraine, Austria, and Luxembourg, which was introduced from 1993 and 1996, succeeding ...

'' (Protestant hymn book): * 1820

Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...

hymn, " Tochter Zion, freue dich" ("Daughter of Zion, rejoice", same music as " Thine Be the Glory", music by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

). * 1823 Christmas carol, "Herbei, o ihr Gläubigen" (from the Latin " Adeste Fideles"; in English "

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful", also known as "", is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and anonymous Ciste ...

"; music by

John Francis Wade John Francis Wade (1 January 1711 – 16 August 1786) was an English hymnist who is usually credited with writing and composing the hymn " Adeste Fideles" (which was translated as "O Come All Ye Faithful" in 1841 by Frederick Oakeley). The autho ...

). In 1832 he published a German edition of work by

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...

with the title of
Des Christen Wallfahrt nach der himmlischen Stadt
' (introduction written by

Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (26 April 1780, in Hohenstein-Ernstthal – 30 June 1860, in Laufzorn, a village in Oberhaching) was a German physician, Natural philosophy, naturalist and Romantic psychology, psychologist. Biography He began his ...

). He was also the author of a two volume study of the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

, titled ''Untersuchungen über den Pentateuch, aus dem Gebiete der hoeheren Kritik'' (volume 1, 1834; volume 2, 1840).HathiTrust Digital Library
Untersuchungen über den Pentateuch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranke, Friedrich Heinrich 1798 births 1876 deaths People from Wiehe 19th-century German Lutheran clergy German Lutheran theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians University of Halle alumni University of Jena alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg