RANKE. LEOPOLD VON. a German historian; born in Wiehe, between Gotha and Halle, Dec. 21, 1795. Though he studied theology and philology at Halle and Berlin, and in 1818 began to teach at the gymnasium of Frankfort-on-Oder, his chiefest thoughts were given to the study of history. The works, "A History of the Roman and German People from 1494 to 1535" (1824) and "A Criticism on Modern Historians" (1824), procured him a call to Berlin as Professor of His tory in 1825. The latter of these works and "Analecta" to his subsequent books, expound his views of the functions of history, and the methods of the ideal his torian. History is the record of facts. It should know nothing of the political party, or Church politics, or subjective views of the writer. It should be based on sound documentary evidence, criti cally examined and sifted. In 1827 he was sent by the Prussian Government to consult the archives of Vienna, Venice, Rome, and Florence; four years he spent in this work, and returned with a mass of the most valuable historical materials. The results of his labors were seen in "The Princes and Peoples of Southern Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries" (1827), and other books dealing with Serbia, Turkey, and Venice; and "The Roman Popes in the 16th and 17th Cen turies" (1834-1837; 9th ed. 1889), per haps the most finished of his books. Then he turned his attention to central and northern Europe, and wrote in quick succession "German History in the Early Reformation" (1839-1847) ; "Twelve Books on Prussian History" (1847 1848) ; "History of the French" (1852 1861) ; "English History" (1859-1867) ; and "German History from the Refor mation to the Thirty Years' War" (1869). Later periods and special periods of German history are treated of in books on the "Origin of the Seven Years War" (2d ed. 1874) ; the "German Powers and the Confederation" (1871) ; the "History of Germany and France in the 19th Cen tury" (1887), and monographs on Wal lenstein Frederick the Great and Frederick William IV. (1878). To the
above must be added a book on the revolutionary wars of 1791 and 1792 (1875), another on Venetian history (1878), and "The Universal History," of whose nine volumes (1881-1888) he lived to see only seven published. This last work, which is the copestone of Ranke's historical labors, was begun when he was an old man of 82; yet at that great age he kept two schooled historical as sistants busy, studied critically the Greek and other sources, dictated and worked 8 to 10 hours a day, and pub lished one volume a year regularly, till he died, May 23, 1886, having rested from his beloved work only a few short days. Even his long life—he was over 90 when he died—would hardly have sufficed for the thorough works he ac complished had he not been a man of un wearied industry, with a marvelous memory, and a swift and intuitive judgment as to the value of historical material. His style is not brilliant, yet sufficiently clear and interesting. He al ways wrote from the standpoint of one who had the whole history of the world before his mind's eye. This and his skill in the portraiture of historical per sonages often lend the deepest interest to his narratives. His point of view was, however, that of the statesman; and he fails to give due prominence to the social and popular sides of national develop ment. Ranke married an Irish lady in 1843, and was ennobled in 1865. He continued to lecture till 1872. His lec tures exercised a great influence upon those who sat at his feet to learn, as is seen in the works of the great school of historical writers, Weitz, Von Sybel, Giesebrecht, and others. A collected edition of his "Works" was published at Leipsic in 47 volumes in 1868. He died in Berlin, May 23, 1886.