Background
Heeren was born on the 25th of October, 1760 in Bremen, Germany, the son of a clergyman.
historian philologist university professor
Heeren was born on the 25th of October, 1760 in Bremen, Germany, the son of a clergyman.
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren studied philosophy, theology and history at the University of Göttingen, and then travelled in France, Italy and the Netherlands.
In 1787 Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren was appointed, a professor of philosophy, and then of history, at Göttingen and he afterwards was chosen Aulic Councillor, privy councillor, et cetera, the usual rewards of successful German scholars. Instead of merely narrating their political events, he examined their economics, their constitutions and their financial systems, and thus was able to throw new light on the development of the Old World. He possessed vast and varied learning, perfect calmness and impartiality, and great power of historical insight, and is now looked back to as the pioneer in the movement for the economic interpretation of history.
Heeren had little interest in contemporary politics, and would later be criticized in his own country for having taken refuge in the study of antiquity when German politics were moving toward the crisis of 1848.
Heeren's chief merit as an historian was that he looked at the ancient world from a fresh point of view.
Arnold Hermann Ludwig Heeren was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.