Wilhelm Oncken

Christian Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Oncken (19 December 1838 – 11 August 1905) was a German historian.

Biography

Oncken was born in Heidelberg. The brother of economist August Oncken, he taught history at the University of Gießen.

Oncken was a typical nineteenth-century national liberal, using history as a means of national political education. From the history of ancient Greece, he later turned to the history of Prussia.

Oncken was also editor of the magazine Allgemeine Geschichte in Einzeldarstellungen ("common history in single representations"; 45 volumes, 1876-1893).

Oncken died in Gießen.

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