Career
He was a specialist in the field of Roman literature. He obtained his classical education at the University of Bonn as a student of Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker, Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl, Franz Bücheler and Otto Jahn. In 1863, he became a professor of classical philology at the University of Basel, and in 1869 began teaching classes at the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg.
In 1872 he relocated to the University of Greifswald, where from a scientific standpoint, he spent the most important years of his life.
In 1889 he became successor to Friedrich Leo (1851–1914) at the University of Göttingen.