Volker Press (1939 – 1993) was a German

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 ...

Life and career

Volker Press studied

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

from 1957 to 1965 at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He completed his doctorate in 1966 with Friedrich Hermann Schubert with a dissertation on the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

in the confessional age. After serving as an assistant at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

and the University of Frankfurt, he took a post as a full professor (

Professor ordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

) of modern history at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...

. In 1980 he moved to a post at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

where he taught medieval and modern history until his sudden death in 1993. The focal points of Press's research included the

imperial knights The Free Imperial Knights (, ) were free nobles of the Holy Roman Empire, whose direct overlord was the Emperor. They were the remnants of the medieval free nobility ('' edelfrei'') and the ministeriales. What distinguished them from other kn ...

, the ecclesiastical territories seized by the imperial nobles, and the position of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperors in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

and in their home territories. His papers are in the possession of the archive of the University of Tübingen. His voluminous library was acquired by the

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

. Press had been a member of the

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences The Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (German: ''Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften''), established in 1909 in Heidelberg, Germany, is an assembly of scholars and scientists in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The acade ...

since 1991.

Works

; Monographs * ''Calvinismus und Territorialstaat: Regierung und Zentralbehörden der Kurpfalz 1559–1619.'' Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1970. * ''Das alte Reich: Ausgewählte Aufsätze.'' Stephanie Blankenhorn and Johannes Kunisc, eds. 2nd. edition, Berlin: 2000, . * ''Kaiser Karl V., König Ferdinand und die Entstehung der Reichsritterschaft.'' Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1976. * ''Kriege und Krisen: Deutschland 1600–1715.'' Neue Deutsche Geschichte. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1991., . * ''Südwestdeutsche Bischofsresidenzen ausserhalb der Kathedralstädte.'' Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1992. ;Edited volumes * Moraw, Peter and Volker Press, ed. ''Academia Gissensis: Beiträge zur älteren Giessener Universitätsgeschichte.'' Marburg, 1982, . * Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. ''Altes Reich und Deutscher Bund: Kontinuität in der Diskontinuität.'' Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995. * Press, Volker, and Dieter Stievermann, ed. ''Martin Luther: Probleme seiner Zeit.'' Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1986. . * Press, Volker, ed. ''Alternativen zur Reichsverfassung in der frühen Neuzeit?'' Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995. .

External links

*
Contents of his papers at the Universitätsarchiv Tübingen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Press, Volker Reformation historians Academic staff of the University of Tübingen Academic staff of the University of Giessen 1939 births 1993 deaths 20th-century German historians German male non-fiction writers People from Erding

Life and career

Works

Further reading

External links