Maximilian Wolfgang Duncker (15 October 1811 – 21 July 1886) was a German historian and politician.

Life

Duncker was born in Berlin,

Province of Brandenburg The Province of Brandenburg () was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1947. Brandenburg was established in 1815 from the Kingdom of Prussia's core territory, comprised the bulk of the historic Margraviate of Brandenburg (excluding Altmark) and ...

, as the eldest son of the publisher

Karl Duncker Karl Duncker (2 February 1903 in Leipzig – 23 February 1940) was a German Gestalt psychology, Gestalt psychologist. He attended Friedrich-Wilhelms-University from 1923 to 1923, and spent 1925–1926 at Clark University in Worcester, MA as a visit ...

. He studied at the universities of

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

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 ...

till 1834, was then accused of participation in the students' societies, which the government was endeavouring to suppress, and was condemned to six years' imprisonment, afterwards reduced to six months. He had already begun his labours as a historian, but after serving his sentence in 1837, found himself debarred till 1839 from completing his course at Halle, where in 1842 he obtained a professorship. Elected to the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

in 1848, he joined the Right Centre Party, and was chosen reporter of the projected constitution. He sat in the Erfurt assembly in 1850, and in the second Prussian chamber from 1849 to 1852. During the crisis in Schleswig and Holstein in 1850 he endeavoured in person to aid the duchies in their struggles. An outspoken opponent of the policy of

Manteuffel The Manteuffel family is an old and influential German Pomeranian noble family, which later also resided in Brandenburg, Prussia, Silesia, Mecklenburg, Poland, the Baltics and in Russia. Name of the family The surname Manteuffel is a combinati ...

, he was refused promotion by the Prussian government, and in 1857 accepted the professorship of history at

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. In 1859, however, he was recalled to Berlin as assistant in the ministry of state in the cabinet of Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern. At that time,

Rudolf von Auerswald Rudolf Ludwig Cäsar von Auerswald (1 September 1795 – 15 January 1866) was a German official who served as Prime Minister of Prussia during the Revolution of 1848. Later, during the ministry of Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern, h ...

, a minister without portfolio, led the government in all but name. In 1861 was appointed councillor to the crown prince. In 1867 he became director of the Prussian archives, with which it was his task to incorporate those of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

and Nassau. He retired on 1 January 1875, and died at

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 ...

Legacy

Duncker's eminent position among German historians rests mainly on his "''Geschichte des Alterthums''" (1st edition, 1852–1857; English translation by

Evelyn Abbott Evelyn Abbott (; 10 March 1843 – 3 September 1901) was an English writer and classical scholar. He is best known for his book ''History of Greece'', which includes a sceptical viewpoint of Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''. He is also very w ...

, 1877–1882). He edited, with J.G. Droysen, "''Preussische staatsschriften aus der regierungszeit König Friedrichs II''", and "''Urkunden und Actenstucke zur Geschichte des Kurfürsten Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg''". To the period of his political activity belong: * ''Zur Geschichte der deutschen Reichsversammlung in Frankfurt'' (1849). * ''Heinrich von Gagern: eine biographische Skizze'' (1850), in the series of Männer der Gegenwart. * ''Vier Monate auswärtiger Politik'' (1851); anonymous, attributed to Max Duncker. His other works include: * ''Origines Germanicae. Commentatio prima'' (1840). * ''Die Krisis der Reformation ein Vortrag in der Versammlung der protestantischen Freunde zu Halle am 6. August'' (1845), lecture. * ''Feudalität und Aristokratie'' (1858). * ''Aus der Zeit Friedrichs des Grossen und Friedrich Wilhelms III. Abhandlungen zur preussischen Geschichte'' (1876). * ''Abhandlungen aus der griechischen Geschichte'' and ''Abhandlungen aus der neueren Geschichte'' (1887), both works published after his death.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncker, Maximilian Wolfgang 1811 births 1886 deaths Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Members of the Frankfurt Parliament Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Members of the Prussian House of Representatives Writers from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg University of Bonn alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Academic staff of the University of Tübingen 19th-century German historians 19th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers Historians from the Kingdom of Prussia Members of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation