University of Bonn
Encyclopedia
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn
, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number of undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of subjects. Its library holds more than two million volumes. The University of Bonn has 525 professors and 27,800 students. Among its notable alumni and faculty are seven Nobel Laureates, two Fields Medal
ists, twelve Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
winners, Pope Benedict XVI
, Heinrich Heine
, Karl Marx
, Friedrich Nietzsche
and Joseph Schumpeter
. In the years 2010 and 2011, the Times Higher Education ranked the University of Bonn as one of the 200 best universities in the world.
of Cologne
) which was founded in 1777 by Maximilian Frederick of Königsegg-Rothenfels
, the prince-elector of Cologne. In the spirit of the Enlightenment
the new academy was nonsectarian. The academy had schools for theology, law, pharmacy and general studies. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II
granted the academy the right to award academic degrees (Licentiat and Ph.D.), turning the academy into a university. The academy was closed in 1798 after the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by France during the French Revolutionary Wars
.
The Rhineland
became a part of Prussia
in 1815 as a result of the Congress of Vienna
. Shortly after the seizure of the Rhineland, on April 5, 1815, the Prussia
n king Friedrich Wilhelm III promised the establishment of a new university in the new Rhine province (German: den aus Landesväterlicher Fürsorge für ihr Bestes gefaßten Entschluß, in Unsern Rheinlanden eine Universität zu errichten). At this time there was no university in the Rhineland, as all three universities that existed until the end of the 18th century were closed as a result of the French occupation. The Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn was one of these three universities. The other two were the Roman Catholic University of Cologne
and the Protestant University of Duisburg
.
The new Rhein University (German: Rhein-Universität) was then founded on October 18, 1818, by the Prussia
n king Frederick William III
. It was the sixth Prussian University, founded after the universities in Greifswald, Berlin
, Königsberg
, Halle and Breslau. The new university was equally shared between the two Christian denominations. This was one of the reasons why Bonn, with its tradition of a nonsectarian university, was chosen over Cologne and Duisburg. Apart from a school of Roman Catholic theology and a school of Protestant theology, the university had schools for medicine, law and philosophy. Inititally 35 professors and eight adjunct professors were teaching in Bonn.
The university constitution was adopted in 1827. In the spirit of Wilhelm von Humboldt
the constitution emphasized the autonomy of the university and the unity of teaching and research. Similar to the University of Berlin
, which was founded in 1810, the new constitution made the University of Bonn a modern research university.
Only one year after the inception of the Rhein University the dramatist August von Kotzebue
was murdered by Karl Ludwig Sand
, a student at the University of Jena
. The Carlsbad Decrees
, introduced on September 20, 1819 led to a general crackdown on universities, the dissolution of the Burschenschaft
en and the introduction of censorship laws. One victim was the author and poet Ernst Moritz Arndt
, who, freshly appointed university professor in Bonn, was banned from teaching. Only after the death of Frederick William III
in 1840 was he reinstated in his professorship. Another consequence of the Carlsbad Decrees
was the refusal by Frederick William III
to confer the chain of office, the official seal and an official name to the new university. The Rhein University was thus nameless until 1840, when the new King of Prussia, Frederick William IV
gave it the official name Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität.
Despite this problems the university grew and attracted famous scholars and students. At the end of the 19th century the university was also known as the Prinzenuniversität (English:Princes' university), as many of the sons of the king of Prussia studied here. In 1900 the university had 68 chairs, 23 adjunct chairs, two honorary professors, 57 Privatdozent
en and six lecturers. Since 1896 women were allowed to attend classes as guest auditors at universities in Prussia. In 1908 the University of Bonn became fully coeducational.
The growth of the university came to a halt with World War I
. Financial and economic problems in Germany in the aftermath of the war resulted in reduced government funding for the university. The University of Bonn responded by trying to find private and industrial sponsors. In 1930 the university adopted a new constitution. For the first students were allowed to participate in the self-governing university administration. To that effect the student council
Astag (German: Allgemeine Studentische Arbeitsgemeinschaft) was founded in the same year. Members of the student council were elected in a secret ballot.
After the Nazi takeover of power in 1933 the Gleichschaltung
transformed the university into a Nazi educational institution. According to the Führerprinzip
the autonomous and self-governening administration of the university was replaced by a hierarchy of leaders resembling the military, with the university president being subordinate to the ministry of education. Jewish professors and students and political opponents were ostracized and expelled from the university. The theologian Karl Barth
was forced to resign and to emigrate to Switzerland for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. The Jewish mathematician Felix Hausdorff
was expelled from the university in 1935 and committed suicide after learning about his impending deportation to a concentration camp in 1942. The philosophers Paul Ludwig Landsberg and Johannes Maria Verweyen were deported and died in concentration camps
. In 1937 Thomas Mann
was deprived of his honorary doctorate. His honorary degree was restored in 1946.
During the second World War
the university suffered heavy damage. An air raid
on October 18, 1944 destroyed the main building. The university was re-opened on November 17, 1945 as one of the first in the British occupation zone
. The first university president was Heinrich Matthias Konen
, who was expelled from the university in 1934 because of his opposition to Nazism
. At the start of the first semester on November 17, 1945 the university had more than 10,000 applicants for only 2,500 places.
The university greatly expanded in the postwar period, in particular in the 1960s and 1970s. Significant events of the postwar era were the relocation of the university hospital from the city center to the Venusberg in 1949, the opening of the new university library in 1960 and the opening of a new building, the Juridicum, for the School of Law and Economics in 1967.
In 1980 the Pedagogigal University Bonn was merged into the University of Bonn, although eventually all the teachers education programs were closed in 2007. In 1983 the new science library was opened. In 1989 Wolfgang Paul
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
. Three years later Reinhard Selten
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. The decision of the German government to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin after the reunification
in 1991 resulted in generous compensation for the city of Bonn. The compensation package included three new research institutes affiliated or closely collaborating with the university, thus significantly enhancing the research profile of the University of Bonn.
In the 2000s the university implemented the Bologna process
and replaced the traditional Diplom
and Magister
programs with Bachelor and Master programs. This process was completed by 2007.
s. More than 90 programs in all fields are offered. Strong fields as identified by the university are mathematics
, physics
, economics
, neuroscience
, medical genetics
, chemical biology
, Asian
and Oriental studies
and Philosophy and Ethics
. The university has a standing faculty of more than 500 professors, an academic staff of 2,100 and a support staff of 1,500. The annual budget was more than 300 million Euros in 2006.
and in particular the confrontation and interaction of Christians, Jews and Pagans in the late antiquity. The institute edits the Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, a German language
encyclopedia
treating the history of early Christians in the late antiquity.
The institute is named after the church historian Franz Joseph Dölger
who was a professor of theology at the university from 1929 to 1940.
The Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics focuses on discrete mathematics
and its applications, in particular combinatorial optimization
and the design of computer chips
. The institute cooperates with IBM
and Magma Design Automation
. Researchers of the institute optimized the chess computer IBM Deep Blue.
The Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics "is a joint enterprise of theoretical physicists and mathematicians at various institutes of or connected with the University of Bonn. In the spirit of Hans Bethe it fosters research activities over a wide range of theoretical and mathematical physics." Activities of the Bethe Center include short and long term visitors program, workshops on dedicated research topics, regular Bethe Seminar Series, lectures and seminars for graduate students.
The German Reference Center for Ethics in the Life Sciences (German: Deutsches Referenzzentrum für Ethik in den Biowissenschaften) was founded in 1999 and is modeled after the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature at Georgetown University
. The center provides access to scientific information to academics and professionals in the fields of life science and is the only of its kind in Germany.
After the German Government's decision in 1991 to move the capital of Germany from Bonn to Berlin, the city of Bonn received generous compensation from the Federal Government. This led to the foundation of three research institutes in 1995, of which two are affiliated with the university:
The Institute for the Study of Labor
(German: Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit) is a private research institute that is funded by Deutsche Post
. The institute concentrates on research on labor economics, but is also offering policy advise on labor market issues. The institute also awards the annual IZA Prize in Labor Economics. The department of economics of the University of Bonn and the institute closely cooperate.
The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics
(German: Max Planck-Institut für Mathematik) is part of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, a network of scientific research institutes in Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 by Friedrich Hirzebruch
.
The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
(German: Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie) was founded in 1966 as an institute of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. It operates the radio telescope in Effelsberg
.
The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
(German: Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Gemeinschaftsgütern) started as a research group in 1997 and was founded as an institute of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in 2003. The institute studies collective goods from a legal and economic perspective.
and the Geissler tube
, discovered radio waves
, were instrumental in describing cathode rays and developed the variable star designation
. In chemistry researchers made significant contributions to the understanding of alicyclic compound
s and Benzene
. In material science researchers have been instrumental in describing the lotus effect
. In mathematics University of Bonn faculty made fundamental contributions to modern topology
and algebraic geometry
. The Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem, Lipschitz continuity
, the Petri net
, the Schönhage–Strassen algorithm, Faltings' theorem
and the Toeplitz matrix
are all named after University of Bonn mathematicians. University of Bonn economists made fundamental contributions to game theory
and experimental economics
. Famous thinkers that were faculty at the University of Bonn include the poet August Wilhelm Schlegel, the historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr
, the theologians Karl Barth
and Joseph Ratzinger
and the poet Ernst Moritz Arndt
.
The university has nine collaborative research centres and five research units funded by the German Science Foundation
and attracts more than 75 million Euros in external research funding annually.
The Excellence Initiative of the German government in 2006 resulted in the foundation of the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics
as one of the seventeen national Clusters of Excellence that were part of the initiative and the expansion of the already existing Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE).
The Excellence Initiative also resulted in the founding of the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy
(a honors Masters and PhD program, jointly with the University of Cologne
). Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics was founded in the November of 2008, to foster closer interaction between mathematicians and theoretical physicists at Bonn. The center also arranges for regular visitors and seminars (on topics including String theory, Nuclear physics, Condensed matter etc.).
compiled by researchers of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University
the University Bonn is ranked 93rd internationally and 4th nationally. The Times Higher Education Supplement
ranks the University of Bonn 53rd worldwide in the science category and 84th worldwide in the social science category. Webometrics ranks the University of Bonn 126th worldwide, 32nd in Europe and 9th nationally.
In the field of economics, the Faculty of Economics ranked 1st in Germany and 18th in Europe in 2007 according to the Journal of the European Economic Association with regard to publications in top journals.
University of Bonn is ranked 1st in Germany, 16th in Europe and 61st worldwide based on research contribution from 2004 to 2008 in top economics schools ranking by CentER for Research in Economics and Business.
According to CHE Research Ranking 2008 Department of Economics at the University of Bonn belongs to the ranking's top group.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
ranks the University of Bonn between 76th-100th worldwide in 2009 for its economics category.
In Handelsblatt
-Ranking its Department of Economics is ranked 3rd in 2010 in German-speaking countries.
In national rankings the University of Bonn is ranked in the top ten by the newsmagazine Focus
and the German Research Foundation
. The Humboldt Foundation
ranks the University of Bonn fifth in the humanities and social sciences, sixth in the life sciences and seventh in science.
The 2011 QS World University Rankings
ranked the university 154th overall in the world, and 62nd in Natural sciences.
In 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings
ranked the university 178th overall in the world.
for the prince-elector of Cologne, Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
from 1697–1705. Today it houses the faculty of humanities and theology and the university administration. The Hofgarten, a large park in front of the main building is a popular place for students to meet, study and relax. The Hofgarten was repeatedly the place for political demonstrations as for example the demonstration against the NATO Double-Track Decision
on October 22, 1981 with about 250,000 participants.
The school of law and economics, the main university library and several smaller departments are housed in modern buildings a short distance south of the main building. The department of psychology and the department of computer science are located in a northern suburb of Bonn.
The science departments and the main science library are located in Poppelsdorf and Endenich, west of the city center, and housed in a mix of historical and modern buildings. Notable is the Poppelsdorf Palace (German: Poppelsdorfer Schloss), which was built from 1715 to 1753 by Robert de Cotte
for Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
and his successor Clemens August of Bavaria
. Today the Poppelsdorf Palace houses the university's mineral collection and several science departments; its grounds are the university's botanical garden
(the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
).
The school of medicine is located on the Venusberg, a hill on the western edge of Bonn. Several residence halls are scattered across the city. In total the University of Bonn owns 371 buildings.
for all books published in the Prussian Rhine province. The library contained about 200,000 volumes at the end of the 19th century, and about 600,000 volumes at the outbreak of World War II
. An air raid
on October 10 in 1944 destroyed about 200,000 volumes and a large part of the library catalog
. After the war the library was housed in several makeshift locations until the completion of the new central library in 1960. The new building was designed by Pierre Vago
and Fritz Bornemann and is located close to the main building. In 1983 a new library building was opened in Poppelsdorf, west of the main building. The new library building houses the science, agriculture and medicine collections. Today the university library system the central library, the library for science, agriculture and medicine and about 160 smaller libraries. The university library holds 2.2 million volumes and subscribes to about 14,000 journals.
The university hospital (German:Universitätsklinikum Bonn) was founded at the same time as the university and officially openend on May 5, 1819 in the Poppelsdorf Palace (German:Poppelsdorffer Schloß) west of the main building. In its first year, the hospital had thirty beds, performed 93 surgeries and treated about 600 outpatients. In 1883 the hospital moved to a new building in the city center of Bonn, and after World War II
to the Venusberg on the western edge of Bonn. On January 1, 2001 the university hospital became a public corporation. Although the university hospital is since then independent from the university, the School of Medicine of the University of Bonn and the university hospital closely collaborate. Today the university hospital comprises about thirty individual hospitals, employs more than 670 physicians and more than 1,100 nursing and clinical support staff and treated about 39,000 inpatients.
(English: Academic Museum of Antiquities ) was founded in 1818 and has one of the largest collections of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the world. At this time collections of plaster casts were mainly used in the instruction of students at art academies. They were first used in the instruction of university students in 1763 by Christian Gottlob Heyne
at University of Göttingen
. The Akademisches Kunstmuseum in Bonn was the first of its kind, as at this time collections at other universities were scattered around universities libraries. The first director was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker
, who also held a professorship of archaeology. His tenure was from 1819 until his retirement in 1854. He was succeeded by Otto Jahn
and Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
, who shared the directorship. From 1870 to 1889 Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz
, nephew of the famous organic chemist Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
, was the director. In 1872 the museum moved to a new building that was formerly used by the department of anatomy. The building was constructed from 1823 to 1830 and designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
and Hermann Friedrich Waesemann
. Other directors of the museum were Georg Loeschcke
(from 1889 to 1912), Franz Winter (from 1912 to 1929), Richard Delbrueck (from 1929 to 1940), Ernst Langlotz (from 1944 to 1966), Nikolaus Himmelmann (from 1969 to 1994) and Harald Mielsch (since 1994). All directors, with the exception of Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
held a professorship of archaeology at the university.
The Egyptian Museum
(German: Ägyptisches Museum) was founded in 2001. The collection is dating back to the 19th century and was formerly part of the Akademisches Kunstmuseum. Large parts of the collection were destroyed in World War II. Today the collection comprises about 3,000 objects.
The Arithmeum
was openend in 1999. With over 1,200 objects it has the world's largest collection of historical mechanical calculating machines
. The museum is affiliated with the Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics.
The Teaching Collection of Archaeology and Anthropology (German: Archäologisch-ethnographische Lehr- und Studiensammlung) will be opened in 2008. The collection comprises more than 7,500 objects of mostly pre-Columbian art.
The Botanical Garden was officially founded in 1818 and is located around the Poppelsdorf Palace. A garden existed at the same place at least since 1578, and around 1720 a Baroque garden was built for Clemens August of Bavaria
. The first director of the Botanical Garden was Nees von Esenbeck
from 1818 to 1830. In May 2003 the world largest Titan arum
, some 2.74 m high, flowered in the Botanical Garden for three days.
The natural history museum was opened in 1820 by Georg August Goldfuss
. It was the first public museum in the Rhineland. In 1882 it was split into the Mineralogical Museum a museum of palaeontology, now named Goldfuß Museum of Palaeontology.
The Horst Stoeckel-Museum of the History of Anesthesiology (German: Horst Stoeckel-Museum für die Geschichte der Anästhesiologie) was opened in 2000 and is the largest of its kind in Europe.
The Museum Alexander Koenig is one of the largest natural history museums in Germany and is affiliated with the university. The museum was founded in 1912 by Alexander Koenig, who donated his collection of mounted specimen to the public. See also the separate article Museum Koenig
.
s and two Fields Medal
s have been awarded to faculty and alumni of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn:
Among its notable alumni and faculty are Pope Benedict XVI
, Heinrich Heine
, Heinrich Hertz, Friedrich Hirzebruch
, Karl Marx
, Friedrich Nietzsche
, Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
, Joseph Schumpeter
, Konrad Adenauer
, Max Ernst
, Constantin Carathéodory
, Karl Weierstrass
, Karl Barth
and Samson Raphael Hirsch
.
See also List of University of Bonn people
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number of undergraduate and graduate programs in a range of subjects. Its library holds more than two million volumes. The University of Bonn has 525 professors and 27,800 students. Among its notable alumni and faculty are seven Nobel Laureates, two Fields Medal
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
ists, twelve Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is a research prize awarded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft every year since 1985 to scientists working in Germany. This highest German research prize consists of a research grant of 2.5 million euro, to be used within seven years...
winners, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
and Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...
. In the years 2010 and 2011, the Times Higher Education ranked the University of Bonn as one of the 200 best universities in the world.
History
The university's forerunner was the Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn (English: Academy of the Prince-electorPrince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
) which was founded in 1777 by Maximilian Frederick of Königsegg-Rothenfels
Maximilian Frederick of Königsegg-Rothenfels
Maximilian Friedrich von Königsegg-Rothenfels was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne and the Bishop of Münster from 1761 to 1784. He was born in Cologne. He was the first Elector of Cologne to come from outside the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty since 1583.- References :...
, the prince-elector of Cologne. In the spirit of the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
the new academy was nonsectarian. The academy had schools for theology, law, pharmacy and general studies. In 1784 Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
granted the academy the right to award academic degrees (Licentiat and Ph.D.), turning the academy into a university. The academy was closed in 1798 after the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by France during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
.
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
became a part of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in 1815 as a result of the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. Shortly after the seizure of the Rhineland, on April 5, 1815, the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n king Friedrich Wilhelm III promised the establishment of a new university in the new Rhine province (German: den aus Landesväterlicher Fürsorge für ihr Bestes gefaßten Entschluß, in Unsern Rheinlanden eine Universität zu errichten). At this time there was no university in the Rhineland, as all three universities that existed until the end of the 18th century were closed as a result of the French occupation. The Kurkölnische Akademie Bonn was one of these three universities. The other two were the Roman Catholic University of Cologne
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
and the Protestant University of Duisburg
University of Duisburg
-History:Its origins date back to the 1555 decision to create a university for the unified duchies at the Lower Rhine that were later to be merged into Prussia. After the foundation of an academic college in 1559, a university was founded in 1655 by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, the...
.
The new Rhein University (German: Rhein-Universität) was then founded on October 18, 1818, by the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n king Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
. It was the sixth Prussian University, founded after the universities in Greifswald, Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
, Halle and Breslau. The new university was equally shared between the two Christian denominations. This was one of the reasons why Bonn, with its tradition of a nonsectarian university, was chosen over Cologne and Duisburg. Apart from a school of Roman Catholic theology and a school of Protestant theology, the university had schools for medicine, law and philosophy. Inititally 35 professors and eight adjunct professors were teaching in Bonn.
The university constitution was adopted in 1827. In the spirit of Wilhelm von Humboldt
Wilhelm von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt was a German philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of Humboldt Universität. He is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice...
the constitution emphasized the autonomy of the university and the unity of teaching and research. Similar to the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, which was founded in 1810, the new constitution made the University of Bonn a modern research university.
Only one year after the inception of the Rhein University the dramatist August von Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
was murdered by Karl Ludwig Sand
Karl Ludwig Sand
Karl Ludwig Sand was a German university student and member of a liberal Burschenschaft . He was executed in 1820 for the murder of the conservative dramatist August von Kotzebue the previous year in Mannheim...
, a student at the University of Jena
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena , is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany....
. The Carlsbad Decrees
Carlsbad Decrees
The Carlsbad Decrees were a set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after a conference held in the spa town of Carlsbad, Bohemia...
, introduced on September 20, 1819 led to a general crackdown on universities, the dissolution of the Burschenschaft
Burschenschaft
German Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
en and the introduction of censorship laws. One victim was the author and poet Ernst Moritz Arndt
Ernst Moritz Arndt
Ernst Moritz Arndt was a German nationalistic and antisemitic author and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany, and had to flee to Sweden for some time due to his anti-French positions...
, who, freshly appointed university professor in Bonn, was banned from teaching. Only after the death of Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
in 1840 was he reinstated in his professorship. Another consequence of the Carlsbad Decrees
Carlsbad Decrees
The Carlsbad Decrees were a set of reactionary restrictions introduced in the states of the German Confederation by resolution of the Bundesversammlung on 20 September 1819 after a conference held in the spa town of Carlsbad, Bohemia...
was the refusal by Frederick William III
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III was king of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel .-Early life:...
to confer the chain of office, the official seal and an official name to the new university. The Rhein University was thus nameless until 1840, when the new King of Prussia, Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
gave it the official name Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität.
Privatdozent
Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...
en and six lecturers. Since 1896 women were allowed to attend classes as guest auditors at universities in Prussia. In 1908 the University of Bonn became fully coeducational.
The growth of the university came to a halt with World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Financial and economic problems in Germany in the aftermath of the war resulted in reduced government funding for the university. The University of Bonn responded by trying to find private and industrial sponsors. In 1930 the university adopted a new constitution. For the first students were allowed to participate in the self-governing university administration. To that effect the student council
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
Astag (German: Allgemeine Studentische Arbeitsgemeinschaft) was founded in the same year. Members of the student council were elected in a secret ballot.
After the Nazi takeover of power in 1933 the Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
transformed the university into a Nazi educational institution. According to the Führerprinzip
Führerprinzip
The Führerprinzip , German for "leader principle", prescribes the fundamental basis of political authority in the governmental structures of the Third Reich...
the autonomous and self-governening administration of the university was replaced by a hierarchy of leaders resembling the military, with the university president being subordinate to the ministry of education. Jewish professors and students and political opponents were ostracized and expelled from the university. The theologian Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
was forced to resign and to emigrate to Switzerland for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. The Jewish mathematician Felix Hausdorff
Felix Hausdorff
Felix Hausdorff was a Jewish German mathematician who is considered to be one of the founders of modern topology and who contributed significantly to set theory, descriptive set theory, measure theory, function theory, and functional analysis.-Life:Hausdorff studied at the University of Leipzig,...
was expelled from the university in 1935 and committed suicide after learning about his impending deportation to a concentration camp in 1942. The philosophers Paul Ludwig Landsberg and Johannes Maria Verweyen were deported and died in concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
. In 1937 Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
was deprived of his honorary doctorate. His honorary degree was restored in 1946.
During the second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the university suffered heavy damage. An air raid
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
on October 18, 1944 destroyed the main building. The university was re-opened on November 17, 1945 as one of the first in the British occupation zone
Allied Occupation Zones in Germany
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945–49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, US forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the...
. The first university president was Heinrich Matthias Konen
Heinrich Konen
Heinrich Matthias Konen was a German physicist who specialized in spectroscopy. He was a founder and organizer of the Emergency Association of German Science, and he was a member of the "Senate" of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, the Reich Physical and Technical Institute, and the Reich Chemical and...
, who was expelled from the university in 1934 because of his opposition to Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. At the start of the first semester on November 17, 1945 the university had more than 10,000 applicants for only 2,500 places.
The university greatly expanded in the postwar period, in particular in the 1960s and 1970s. Significant events of the postwar era were the relocation of the university hospital from the city center to the Venusberg in 1949, the opening of the new university library in 1960 and the opening of a new building, the Juridicum, for the School of Law and Economics in 1967.
In 1980 the Pedagogigal University Bonn was merged into the University of Bonn, although eventually all the teachers education programs were closed in 2007. In 1983 the new science library was opened. In 1989 Wolfgang Paul
Wolfgang Paul
Wolfgang Paul was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what we now call an ion trap...
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
. Three years later Reinhard Selten
Reinhard Selten
-Life and career:Selten was born in Breslau in Lower Silesia, now in Poland, to a Jewish father, Adolf Selten, and Protestant mother, Käthe Luther. For his work in game theory, Selten won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. The decision of the German government to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin after the reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1991 resulted in generous compensation for the city of Bonn. The compensation package included three new research institutes affiliated or closely collaborating with the university, thus significantly enhancing the research profile of the University of Bonn.
In the 2000s the university implemented the Bologna process
Bologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
and replaced the traditional Diplom
Diplom
A Diplom is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Estonia, Finland , Greece, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Ukraine...
and Magister
Magister (degree)
Magister is an academic degree used in various systems of higher education.-Argentina:...
programs with Bachelor and Master programs. This process was completed by 2007.
Academics
The University of Bonn has 27,800 students, and 3,800 of these are international students. Each year about 3,000 undergraduate students graduate. The university also confers about 800 Ph.D.s and about 60 habilitationHabilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
s. More than 90 programs in all fields are offered. Strong fields as identified by the university are mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, medical genetics
Medical genetics
Medical genetics is the specialty of medicine that involves the diagnosis and management of hereditary disorders. Medical genetics differs from Human genetics in that human genetics is a field of scientific research that may or may not apply to medicine, but medical genetics refers to the...
, chemical biology
Chemical biology
Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology that involves the application of chemical techniques and tools, often compounds produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and manipulation of biological systems. This is a subtle difference from...
, Asian
Asian studies
Asian studies, a term used usually in the United States for Oriental studies and is concerned with the Asian peoples, their cultures, languages, history and politics...
and Oriental studies
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and Philosophy and Ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
. The university has a standing faculty of more than 500 professors, an academic staff of 2,100 and a support staff of 1,500. The annual budget was more than 300 million Euros in 2006.
Schools
From the foundation in 1818 to 1928 the University of Bonn had five schools, that is, the School of Catholic Theology, the School of Protestant Theology, the School of Law and the School of Arts and Science. In 1928 the School of Law and the Department of Economics, that until then was part of the School of Arts and Science, merged into the new School of Law and Economics. In 1934 the until then independent Agricultural University Bonn-Poppelsdorf (German: Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Bonn-Poppelsdorf) was merged into the University of Bonn as the School of Agricultural Science. In 1936 the science departments were separated from the School of Arts and Science. Today the university is divided into seven schools:- School of Catholic Theology
- School of Protestant Theology
- School of Law and Economics
- School of Medicine
- School of Humanities
- School of Mathematics and Science
- School of Agricultural Science
Research institutes
The Franz Joseph Dölger-Institute studies the late antiquityLate Antiquity
Late Antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world. Precise boundaries for the period are a matter of debate, but noted historian of the period Peter Brown proposed...
and in particular the confrontation and interaction of Christians, Jews and Pagans in the late antiquity. The institute edits the Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum, a German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
treating the history of early Christians in the late antiquity.
The institute is named after the church historian Franz Joseph Dölger
Franz Joseph Dölger
Franz Joseph Dölger was a German Catholic theologian and church historian who was a native of Sulzbach am Main....
who was a professor of theology at the university from 1929 to 1940.
The Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics focuses on discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not...
and its applications, in particular combinatorial optimization
Combinatorial optimization
In applied mathematics and theoretical computer science, combinatorial optimization is a topic that consists of finding an optimal object from a finite set of objects. In many such problems, exhaustive search is not feasible...
and the design of computer chips
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
. The institute cooperates with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
and Magma Design Automation
Magma Design Automation
Magma Design Automation is a software company in the electronic design automation industry. The company was founded in 1997 and maintains headquarters in San Jose, California, with facilities throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India....
. Researchers of the institute optimized the chess computer IBM Deep Blue.
The Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics "is a joint enterprise of theoretical physicists and mathematicians at various institutes of or connected with the University of Bonn. In the spirit of Hans Bethe it fosters research activities over a wide range of theoretical and mathematical physics." Activities of the Bethe Center include short and long term visitors program, workshops on dedicated research topics, regular Bethe Seminar Series, lectures and seminars for graduate students.
The German Reference Center for Ethics in the Life Sciences (German: Deutsches Referenzzentrum für Ethik in den Biowissenschaften) was founded in 1999 and is modeled after the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
. The center provides access to scientific information to academics and professionals in the fields of life science and is the only of its kind in Germany.
- The Center for European Integration StudiesCenter for European Integration StudiesThe Center for European Integration Studies is an interdisciplinary research and training institute at the University of Bonn/Germany, based in its Faculty of Arts and its Faculty of Law and Economics. ZEI has participated in research, policy advice, and dialogue between science and practice since...
(German: Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung) studies the legal, economic and social implications of the European integrationEuropean integrationEuropean integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...
process. The institute offers several graduate programs and organizes summer schools for students.
- The Center for Development Research (German: Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung) studies global development from an interdisciplinary perspective and offers a doctoral program in international development.
- The Center of Advanced European Studies and ResearchCenter of Advanced European Studies and ResearchResearch center caesar was founded in 1995 as part of the compensatory actions under the Berlin/Bonn law, which were intended to support structural change in the region of the former capital...
(CAESAR) is an interdisciplinary applied research institute. Research is conducted in the fields nanotechnology, biotechnology and medical technology. The institute is a private foundation, but collaborates closely with the university.
The Institute for the Study of Labor
Institute for the Study of Labor
The Institute for the Study of Labor is a private, independent economic research institute. It was founded under the legal form of a limited liability company. Its German name is Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit hence the abbreviation IZA...
(German: Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit) is a private research institute that is funded by Deutsche Post
Deutsche Post
Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
. The institute concentrates on research on labor economics, but is also offering policy advise on labor market issues. The institute also awards the annual IZA Prize in Labor Economics. The department of economics of the University of Bonn and the institute closely cooperate.
The Max Planck Institute for Mathematics
Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik
The Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik is a mathematical research institute located in Bonn, Germany. It is named in honour of the German physicist Max Planck...
(German: Max Planck-Institut für Mathematik) is part of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, a network of scientific research institutes in Germany. The institute was founded in 1980 by Friedrich Hirzebruch
Friedrich Hirzebruch
Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch is a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation.-Life:He was born in Hamm, Westphalia...
.
The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy is located in Bonn, Germany. It is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society .-History:...
(German: Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie) was founded in 1966 as an institute of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. It operates the radio telescope in Effelsberg
Effelsberg
The Effelsberg 100-m Radio Telescope is a radio telescope in the Ahrgebirge in Bad Münstereifel, district of Euskirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :...
.
The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
The Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods is located in Bonn, Germany. It was founded 1997 as temporary project and transformed into a permanent institute 2003...
(German: Max-Planck-Institut zur Erforschung von Gemeinschaftsgütern) started as a research group in 1997 and was founded as an institute of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft in 2003. The institute studies collective goods from a legal and economic perspective.
Research
University of Bonn researchers made fundamental contributions in the sciences and the humanities. In physics researchers developed the quadrupole ion trapQuadrupole ion trap
A quadrupole ion trap exists in both linear and 3D varieties and refers to an ion trap that uses constant DC and radio frequency oscillating AC electric fields to trap ions. It is commonly used as a component of a mass spectrometer...
and the Geissler tube
Geissler tube
A Geissler tube is an early gas discharge tube used to demonstrate the principles of electrical glow discharge. The tube was invented by the German physicist and glassblower Heinrich Geissler in 1857...
, discovered radio waves
Radio waves
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometers. Like all other electromagnetic waves,...
, were instrumental in describing cathode rays and developed the variable star designation
Variable star designation
Variable stars are named using a variation on the Bayer designation format of an identifying label combined with the Latin genitive of the name of the constellation in which the star lies...
. In chemistry researchers made significant contributions to the understanding of alicyclic compound
Alicyclic compound
An alicyclic compound is an organic compound that is both aliphatic and cyclic. They contain one or more all-carbon rings which may be either saturated or unsaturated, but do not have aromatic character...
s and Benzene
Benzene
Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....
. In material science researchers have been instrumental in describing the lotus effect
Lotus effect
The lotus effect refers to the very high water repellence exhibited by the leaves of the lotus flower ....
. In mathematics University of Bonn faculty made fundamental contributions to modern topology
Topology
Topology is a major area of mathematics concerned with properties that are preserved under continuous deformations of objects, such as deformations that involve stretching, but no tearing or gluing...
and algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry
Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics which combines techniques of abstract algebra, especially commutative algebra, with the language and the problems of geometry. It occupies a central place in modern mathematics and has multiple conceptual connections with such diverse fields as complex...
. The Hirzebruch–Riemann–Roch theorem, Lipschitz continuity
Lipschitz continuity
In mathematical analysis, Lipschitz continuity, named after Rudolf Lipschitz, is a strong form of uniform continuity for functions. Intuitively, a Lipschitz continuous function is limited in how fast it can change: for every pair of points on the graph of this function, the absolute value of the...
, the Petri net
Petri net
A Petri net is one of several mathematical modeling languages for the description of distributed systems. A Petri net is a directed bipartite graph, in which the nodes represent transitions and places...
, the Schönhage–Strassen algorithm, Faltings' theorem
Faltings' theorem
In number theory, the Mordell conjecture is the conjecture made by that a curve of genus greater than 1 over the field Q of rational numbers has only finitely many rational points. The conjecture was later generalized by replacing Q by a finite extension...
and the Toeplitz matrix
Toeplitz matrix
In linear algebra, a Toeplitz matrix or diagonal-constant matrix, named after Otto Toeplitz, is a matrix in which each descending diagonal from left to right is constant...
are all named after University of Bonn mathematicians. University of Bonn economists made fundamental contributions to game theory
Game theory
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
and experimental economics
Experimental economics
Experimental economics is the application of experimental methods to study economic questions. Data collected in experiments are used to estimate effect size, test the validity of economic theories, and illuminate market mechanisms. Economic experiments usually use cash to motivate subjects, in...
. Famous thinkers that were faculty at the University of Bonn include the poet August Wilhelm Schlegel, the historian Barthold Georg Niebuhr
Barthold Georg Niebuhr
Barthold Georg Niebuhr was a Danish-German statesman and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. Classical Rome caught the admiration of German thinkers...
, the theologians Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
and Joseph Ratzinger
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
and the poet Ernst Moritz Arndt
Ernst Moritz Arndt
Ernst Moritz Arndt was a German nationalistic and antisemitic author and poet. Early in his life, he fought for the abolition of serfdom, later against Napoleonic dominance over Germany, and had to flee to Sweden for some time due to his anti-French positions...
.
The university has nine collaborative research centres and five research units funded by the German Science Foundation
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
and attracts more than 75 million Euros in external research funding annually.
The Excellence Initiative of the German government in 2006 resulted in the foundation of the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics
Hausdorff Center for Mathematics
The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics is a research institute in Bonn, supported by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn , the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and the Institute for Social and...
as one of the seventeen national Clusters of Excellence that were part of the initiative and the expansion of the already existing Bonn Graduate School of Economics (BGSE).
The Excellence Initiative also resulted in the founding of the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy
Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy
The Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy is a joint venture of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, offering a combined Master's and Doctorate program in Physics....
(a honors Masters and PhD program, jointly with the University of Cologne
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
). Bethe Center for Theoretical Physics was founded in the November of 2008, to foster closer interaction between mathematicians and theoretical physicists at Bonn. The center also arranges for regular visitors and seminars (on topics including String theory, Nuclear physics, Condensed matter etc.).
Ranking
According to the Academic Ranking of World UniversitiesAcademic Ranking of World Universities
The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually...
compiled by researchers of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University or SJTU), sometimes referred to as Shanghai Jiaotong University , is a top public research university located in Shanghai, China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known as one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China...
the University Bonn is ranked 93rd internationally and 4th nationally. The Times Higher Education Supplement
The Times Higher Education Supplement
The Times Higher Education , formerly Times Higher Education Supplement , is a weekly British magazine based in London reporting specifically on news and other issues related to higher education...
ranks the University of Bonn 53rd worldwide in the science category and 84th worldwide in the social science category. Webometrics ranks the University of Bonn 126th worldwide, 32nd in Europe and 9th nationally.
In the field of economics, the Faculty of Economics ranked 1st in Germany and 18th in Europe in 2007 according to the Journal of the European Economic Association with regard to publications in top journals.
University of Bonn is ranked 1st in Germany, 16th in Europe and 61st worldwide based on research contribution from 2004 to 2008 in top economics schools ranking by CentER for Research in Economics and Business.
According to CHE Research Ranking 2008 Department of Economics at the University of Bonn belongs to the ranking's top group.
Academic Ranking of World Universities
Academic Ranking of World Universities
The Academic Ranking of World Universities , commonly known as the Shanghai ranking, is a publication that was founded and compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally. The rankings have been conducted since 2003 and updated annually...
ranks the University of Bonn between 76th-100th worldwide in 2009 for its economics category.
In Handelsblatt
Handelsblatt
The Handelsblatt is a leading German language business newspaper, published in Düsseldorf by the Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. It has a circulation of 145.437 daily copies. Its editor-in-chief is Gabor Steingart...
-Ranking its Department of Economics is ranked 3rd in 2010 in German-speaking countries.
In national rankings the University of Bonn is ranked in the top ten by the newsmagazine Focus
Focus (magazine)
Magazines with the name Focus include:* Focus , a German weekly news magazine* Focus , a Christian religion magazine published in the United States...
and the German Research Foundation
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
. The Humboldt Foundation
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation set-up by the government of the Federal Republic and funded by the German Foreign Office, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and others for the promotion of international co-operation...
ranks the University of Bonn fifth in the humanities and social sciences, sixth in the life sciences and seventh in science.
The 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
ranked the university 154th overall in the world, and 62nd in Natural sciences.
In 2010 Times Higher Education World University Rankings
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is an international ranking of universities published by the British magazine Times Higher Education in partnership with Thomson Reuters, which provided citation database information...
ranked the university 178th overall in the world.
Campus
The University of Bonn does not have a centralized campus. The main building is the former residential palace of the prince-elector of Cologne (German: Kurfürstliches Schloss) in the city center. The main building was built by Enrico ZuccalliEnrico Zuccalli
Enrico Zuccalli, was a Swiss architect who worked for the Wittelsbach regents of Bavaria and Cologne....
for the prince-elector of Cologne, Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723.-Biography:...
from 1697–1705. Today it houses the faculty of humanities and theology and the university administration. The Hofgarten, a large park in front of the main building is a popular place for students to meet, study and relax. The Hofgarten was repeatedly the place for political demonstrations as for example the demonstration against the NATO Double-Track Decision
NATO Double-Track Decision
The NATO Double-Track Decision is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979 to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of Medium-range ballistic missiles and Intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle range nuclear...
on October 22, 1981 with about 250,000 participants.
The school of law and economics, the main university library and several smaller departments are housed in modern buildings a short distance south of the main building. The department of psychology and the department of computer science are located in a northern suburb of Bonn.
The science departments and the main science library are located in Poppelsdorf and Endenich, west of the city center, and housed in a mix of historical and modern buildings. Notable is the Poppelsdorf Palace (German: Poppelsdorfer Schloss), which was built from 1715 to 1753 by Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, he later became his brother-in-law and his collaborator...
for Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria
Joseph Clemens of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723.-Biography:...
and his successor Clemens August of Bavaria
Clemens August of Bavaria
Clemens August of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.-Biography:...
. Today the Poppelsdorf Palace houses the university's mineral collection and several science departments; its grounds are the university's botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
(the Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
The Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn , also known as the Botanischer Garten Bonn, is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Bonn...
).
The school of medicine is located on the Venusberg, a hill on the western edge of Bonn. Several residence halls are scattered across the city. In total the University of Bonn owns 371 buildings.
University Library
The university library was founded in 1818 and started with 6,000 volumes inherited from the library of the closed University of Duisburg. In 1824 the library became legal depositLegal deposit
Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to 19 . Typically, the national library is one of the...
for all books published in the Prussian Rhine province. The library contained about 200,000 volumes at the end of the 19th century, and about 600,000 volumes at the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. An air raid
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
on October 10 in 1944 destroyed about 200,000 volumes and a large part of the library catalog
Library catalog
A library catalog is a register of all bibliographic items found in a library or group of libraries, such as a network of libraries at several locations...
. After the war the library was housed in several makeshift locations until the completion of the new central library in 1960. The new building was designed by Pierre Vago
Pierre Vago
Pierre Vago was a notable French architect who worked on the Hansaviertel in Berlin. Known Internationally as the publisher of L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui and General Secretary of the UIA...
and Fritz Bornemann and is located close to the main building. In 1983 a new library building was opened in Poppelsdorf, west of the main building. The new library building houses the science, agriculture and medicine collections. Today the university library system the central library, the library for science, agriculture and medicine and about 160 smaller libraries. The university library holds 2.2 million volumes and subscribes to about 14,000 journals.
University Hospital
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to the Venusberg on the western edge of Bonn. On January 1, 2001 the university hospital became a public corporation. Although the university hospital is since then independent from the university, the School of Medicine of the University of Bonn and the university hospital closely collaborate. Today the university hospital comprises about thirty individual hospitals, employs more than 670 physicians and more than 1,100 nursing and clinical support staff and treated about 39,000 inpatients.
University Museums
The Akademisches KunstmuseumAkademisches Kunstmuseum
Akademisches Kunstmuseum is an art museum in Bonn, Germany. It is the oldest museum in Bonn and houses the antique collection of the University of Bonn with more than 500 antique statues and reliefs, and over 2,000 originals...
(English: Academic Museum of Antiquities ) was founded in 1818 and has one of the largest collections of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures in the world. At this time collections of plaster casts were mainly used in the instruction of students at art academies. They were first used in the instruction of university students in 1763 by Christian Gottlob Heyne
Christian Gottlob Heyne
Christian Gottlob Heyne was a German classical scholar and archaeologist as well as long-time director of the Göttingen State and University Library.-Biography:He was born in Chemnitz, Electorate of Saxony...
at University of Göttingen
Georg-August University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen , known informally as Georgia Augusta, is a university in the city of Göttingen, Germany.Founded in 1734 by King George II of Great Britain and the Elector of Hanover, it opened for classes in 1737. The University of Göttingen soon grew in size and popularity...
. The Akademisches Kunstmuseum in Bonn was the first of its kind, as at this time collections at other universities were scattered around universities libraries. The first director was Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker
Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker
Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker was a German classical philologist and archaeologist.-Biography:Welcker was born at Grünberg, Hesse-Darmstadt. Having studied classical philology at the University of Giessen, in 1803 he was appointed master in the high school, an office which he combined with that of...
, who also held a professorship of archaeology. His tenure was from 1819 until his retirement in 1854. He was succeeded by Otto Jahn
Otto Jahn
Otto Jahn , was a German archaeologist, philologist, and writer on art and music.He was born at Kiel...
and Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl was a German scholar best known as a student of Plautus.-Biography:He was born in Großvargula, Thuringia. His family, in which culture and poverty were hereditary, were Protestants who had migrated several generations earlier from Bohemia...
, who shared the directorship. From 1870 to 1889 Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz
Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz
Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz, Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz, (name at birth Kekulé, called Kekulé von Stradonitz only after 1889) Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz, (name at birth Kekulé, called Kekulé von Stradonitz only after 1889) (1839 in Darmstadt, Germany – 1911 in Berlin?...
, nephew of the famous organic chemist Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry...
, was the director. In 1872 the museum moved to a new building that was formerly used by the department of anatomy. The building was constructed from 1823 to 1830 and designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
and Hermann Friedrich Waesemann
Hermann Friedrich Waesemann
Hermann Friedrich Waesemann was a German architect.He was born in Danzig , the son of an architect. He studied mathematics and science in Bonn from 1830 to 1832, before going to Berlin to study architecture at the Bauakademie...
. Other directors of the museum were Georg Loeschcke
Georg Loeschcke
Georg Loeschcke was a German archaeologist who was born in Penig, Saxony.He studied archaeology under Johannes Overbeck in Leipzig, and afterwards at the University of Bonn, where he was a student of Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz...
(from 1889 to 1912), Franz Winter (from 1912 to 1929), Richard Delbrueck (from 1929 to 1940), Ernst Langlotz (from 1944 to 1966), Nikolaus Himmelmann (from 1969 to 1994) and Harald Mielsch (since 1994). All directors, with the exception of Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl
Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl was a German scholar best known as a student of Plautus.-Biography:He was born in Großvargula, Thuringia. His family, in which culture and poverty were hereditary, were Protestants who had migrated several generations earlier from Bohemia...
held a professorship of archaeology at the university.
The Egyptian Museum
Bonn Egyptian Museum
Bonn Egyptian Museum is an Ancient Egypt museum in Bonn, Germany. It presents a selection of the most important collection of original objects from Ancient Egypt in North Rhine-Westphalia....
(German: Ägyptisches Museum) was founded in 2001. The collection is dating back to the 19th century and was formerly part of the Akademisches Kunstmuseum. Large parts of the collection were destroyed in World War II. Today the collection comprises about 3,000 objects.
The Arithmeum
Arithmeum
The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum owned by the Forschungsinstitut für Diskrete Mathematik at the University of Bonn....
was openend in 1999. With over 1,200 objects it has the world's largest collection of historical mechanical calculating machines
History of computing hardware
The history of computing hardware is the record of the ongoing effort to make computer hardware faster, cheaper, and capable of storing more data....
. The museum is affiliated with the Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics.
The Botanical Garden was officially founded in 1818 and is located around the Poppelsdorf Palace. A garden existed at the same place at least since 1578, and around 1720 a Baroque garden was built for Clemens August of Bavaria
Clemens August of Bavaria
Clemens August of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.-Biography:...
. The first director of the Botanical Garden was Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He described approximately 7,000 plant species...
from 1818 to 1830. In May 2003 the world largest Titan arum
Titan arum
The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world...
, some 2.74 m high, flowered in the Botanical Garden for three days.
The natural history museum was opened in 1820 by Georg August Goldfuss
Georg August Goldfuss
Georg August Goldfuss was a German palaeontologist and zoologist.-Biography:Goldfuss was born at Thurnau near Bayreuth. He was educated at Erlangen, where he graduated Ph.D. in 1804 and became professor of zoology in 1818. He was subsequently appointed professor of zoology and mineralogy at the...
. It was the first public museum in the Rhineland. In 1882 it was split into the Mineralogical Museum a museum of palaeontology, now named Goldfuß Museum of Palaeontology.
The Horst Stoeckel-Museum of the History of Anesthesiology (German: Horst Stoeckel-Museum für die Geschichte der Anästhesiologie) was opened in 2000 and is the largest of its kind in Europe.
The Museum Alexander Koenig is one of the largest natural history museums in Germany and is affiliated with the university. The museum was founded in 1912 by Alexander Koenig, who donated his collection of mounted specimen to the public. See also the separate article Museum Koenig
Museum Koenig
The Alexander Koenig Research Museum is a natural history museum and zoological research institution in Bonn, Germany. The museum is named after Alexander Koenig, who donated his collection of specimens to the institution...
.
Notable people
To date, seven Nobel prizeNobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
s and two Fields Medal
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
s have been awarded to faculty and alumni of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn:
- Harald zur HausenHarald zur HausenHarald zur Hausen is a German virologist and professor emeritus. He has done research on cancer of the cervix, where he discovered the role of papilloma viruses, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008.-Biography:Zur Hausen was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, went to...
, alumni: physiology or medicine 2008 - Reinhard SeltenReinhard Selten-Life and career:Selten was born in Breslau in Lower Silesia, now in Poland, to a Jewish father, Adolf Selten, and Protestant mother, Käthe Luther. For his work in game theory, Selten won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
, faculty member: economics 1994 - Wolfgang PaulWolfgang PaulWolfgang Paul was a German physicist, who co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what we now call an ion trap...
, faculty member: physics 1989 - Luigi PirandelloLuigi PirandelloLuigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
, alumni: literature 1934 - Otto WallachOtto WallachOtto Wallach was a German chemist and recipient of the 1910 Nobel prize in Chemistry for his work on alicyclic compounds.-Biography:...
, faculty member: chemistry 1910 - Paul Johann Ludwig von HeysePaul Johann Ludwig von HeysePaul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a distinguished German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty dramas...
, alumni: literature 1910 - Philipp LenardPhilipp LenardPhilipp Eduard Anton von Lenard , known in Hungarian as Lénárd Fülöp Eduárd Antal, was a Hungarian - German physicist and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905 for his research on cathode rays and the discovery of many of their properties...
, faculty member: physics 1905 - Gerd FaltingsGerd FaltingsGerd Faltings is a German mathematician known for his work in arithmetic algebraic geometry.From 1972 to 1978, he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Münster. In 1978 he received his PhD in mathematics and in 1981 he got the venia legendi in mathematics, both from the University...
: Fields Medal 1986 - Maxim KontsevichMaxim KontsevichMaxim Lvovich Kontsevich is a Russian mathematician. He is a professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques and a distinguished professor at the University of Miami...
: Fields Medal 1998
Among its notable alumni and faculty are Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Heinrich Hertz, Friedrich Hirzebruch
Friedrich Hirzebruch
Friedrich Ernst Peter Hirzebruch is a German mathematician, working in the fields of topology, complex manifolds and algebraic geometry, and a leading figure in his generation.-Life:He was born in Hamm, Westphalia...
, Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz
Friedrich August Kekule von Stradonitz was a German organic chemist. From the 1850s until his death, Kekule was one of the most prominent chemists in Europe, especially in theoretical chemistry...
, Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian-Hungarian-American economist and political scientist. He popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.-Life:...
, Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
, Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory
Constantin Carathéodory was a Greek mathematician. He made significant contributions to the theory of functions of a real variable, the calculus of variations, and measure theory...
, Karl Weierstrass
Karl Weierstrass
Karl Theodor Wilhelm Weierstrass was a German mathematician who is often cited as the "father of modern analysis".- Biography :Weierstrass was born in Ostenfelde, part of Ennigerloh, Province of Westphalia....
, Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
and Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
.
See also List of University of Bonn people