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.