Mommsen, (Christian Matthias) Theodor (1817-1903)

German historian who specialized in Roman history and held chairs at Leipzig 1848, Zürich 1852, and Breslau 1854. During this period he published a three-volume work on Roman history and then a series of extensive works on Roman law 1871-99. A political Liberal, he was highly critical of Bismarck's policies and served in the Prussian parliament 1863-66 and 1873-79 and in the Reichstag 1881-84, contributing to major political journals. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1902, the first German to be honoured in this way.