Mommsen, Theodor

mom'sen, Theodor (1817-1903), a German historian. He was a native of Schleswig. He died at Berlin. He was educated at the University of Kiel. He held various university positions at Leipsic, Zurich, and Breslau. During the revolutionary period, 1848, he was an advocate of progress and reform. Following the Franco-Prussian War, he was a member of the lower house of the Prussian Parliament. He opposed Bismarck's policy both with reference to the Catholics and the tariff. In 1858 he was appointed professor of ancient history in the University of Berlin. In spite of his interest in modern politics he is best known as the author of The History of Rome in five volumes. Though one of the most remarkable scholars of the day, whether considered as a decipherer of inscriptions, a historian, a lawyer, an expert on coins, or as a student of language, his volumes are written in a popular style without mention of authority. His is the most readable, and, we may say, the most authentic history of the Roman Republic that has yet appeared. It has been translated into the leading languages of the world. It is the standard authority in libraries everywhere.