Wilhelm Kroll, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Wilhelm Kroll

German classical philologist

Date of Birth: 07-Oct-1869

Place of Birth: Ząbkowice Śląskie, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland

Date of Death: 21-Apr-1939

Profession: university teacher, linguist, classical philologist

Nationality: Germany

Zodiac Sign: Libra

Wilhelm Kroll (October 7, 1869 – April 21, 1939) was a German classic philologist (klassischer Philologe). Kroll was born in the town of Frankenstein in the Prussian Province of Silesia.
Having studied in Breslau (and Berlin), he obtained his Ph.D.
in 1891.
Afterwards he worked towards his secondary degree (the German "habilitation") at Breslau university, which he obtained in 1894.
In 1899 he moved to the University of Greifswald for a chair in classics.
Afterwards he went on to Münster in 1906 and returned to Breslau in 1913, where he was offered the chair of his former colleague Franz Skutsch. After having worked as a Breslau professor für more than 20 years Kroll retired in 1935.
As his follower he supported the appointment of Hans Drexler, an active Nazi who was prohibited from teaching after World War II.
Kroll moved to Berlin in 1937.
He sought the anonymity of the big city because of his anti-Nazi reputation.
He died in 1939 in Berlin, aged 69. Kroll was an internationally renowned classicist, owing to his research and, even more, his editorial work on a number of important publications, the biggest of which was the Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft.
Kroll directed this encyclopedia from 1906 until his death, combining the work of classical scholars from all over Europe and the United States.