Background
Woepcke was born in Dessau in Germany.
mathematician historian of mathematics
Woepcke was born in Dessau in Germany.
He studied mathematics at the University of Berlin, gaining his doctorate in 1847.
With astronomer Johann Franz Encke and archaeologist Ernst Heinrich Tölken as his academic advisors, he penned his dissertation involving sundials of antiquity (Archaeologico-mathematicae circa solaria veterum). Afterwards he studied Arabic language at the University of Bonn, where in 1850 he obtained his habilitation. Woepcke spent much of his subsequent career studying and working outside of Germany, particularly in Paris.
Most of his output was written in French.
In 1856 he returned to Berlin and taught classes at the "Französischen Gymnasium" until 1858. He died in Paris on March 25, 1864 at the age of 37.