Heinrich Nissen (born 3 April 1839 in Hadersleben; died 29 February 1912 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 ...

) was a German professor of

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

Life

Heinrich Nissen studied in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

under Karl Wilhelm Nitzsch and in

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 ...

under

August Boeckh August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

and

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

. After graduating, he travelled in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

between 1863 and 1867. This research was later published as the major work, ''Italischen Landeskunde'' (1883 and 1902). In 1869 he became an associate professor at the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

, where during the following year he attained a full professorship. In 1877 he relocated to the

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 ...

as a professor of ancient history, and soon afterwards, served as a professor at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

.Statement(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 ...

, whose sources include: Ernst Kirsten: Heinrich Nissen. In: Bonner Gelehrte. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Wissenschaften in Bonn. Band 5: Geschichtswissenschaften. Bouvier, Bonn 1968, S. 190–208 (150 Jahre Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Bonn 1818–1968 Band 2, 5). In 1884, he was elected as the successor to

Arnold Schaefer Arnold Dietrich Schaefer (16 October 1819 in Seehausen, today part of Bremen – 19 November 1883 in Bonn) was a German ancient historian, who was a professor of history at the University of Greifswald (1857-1865) and then at the University of Bon ...

at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. There, unlike his predecessor, he exclusively taught ancient history. He also pioneered

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

research at

- based upon his study during his years in Italy - and was dedicated to Roman provincial

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

. He was a co-founder of the Reichs-Limes-Kommission. Nissen is acclaimed as being possibly the first archaeoastronomer in the world. He retired in autumn 1911, succeeded by Ulrich Wilcken. After his death he was buried in the Poppelsdorfer Friedhof (Poppelsdorfer Cemetery).

Works

* ''Kritische Untersuchungen über die Quellen der vierten und fünften Dekade des Livius'', 1863 – Critical studies of the sources from the fourth and fifth decades of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

. * ''Griechische und Römische metrologie'', 1866 – Greek and Roman

metrology Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. It establishes a common understanding of Unit of measurement, units, crucial in linking human activities. Modern metrology has its roots in the French Revolution's political motivation to stan ...

.WorldCat Identities
Most widely held works by Heinrich Nissen * ''Pompeji'', Lüderitz, Berlin 1867. * ''Pompeianische Studien''. Leipzig 1877. * ''Italische Landeskunde'': Bd. 1 ''Land und Leute'', Berlin 1883; Bd. 2: ''Die Städte'' (2 Teilbände), Berlin 1902. * ''Orientation, Studien zur Geschichte der Religion'', 3 v. in 1, Berlin: Weidmann, 1906-1910.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nissen, Heinrich 1839 births 1912 deaths People from Haderslev Municipality German classical scholars 19th-century German historians Members of the Prussian House of Lords Historians of antiquity Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg University of Kiel alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German male non-fiction writers