Franz Boll

Who was Franz Boll?

Franz Boll was a Lutheran theologian and historian. He was the father of physiologist Franz Christian Boll, and the brother of naturalist Ernst Boll, with whom he collaborated throughout his career.

He studied theology in Halle, Berlin and Rostock, and in 1835 returned to Neubrandenburg as a pastor and school teacher. In 1866 he became "Praepositus" of the Neubrandenburg Synod.

As a historian, Boll dealt largely with the history of the Mecklenburg region in Germany. This work involved investigations of documented information contained in various towns and churches, including intensive study on the history of Neubrandenburg and the Broda monastery. His two-volume work, Geschichte der Lande Stargard bis 1470, was an historical account of Mecklenburg-Stargard prior to the year 1470. Boll also performed archaeological research in the Mecklenburg region, and with his brother, he collaborated on Die Geschichte Mecklenburgs, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Culturgeschichte, a two-volume treatise involving the history of Mecklenburg, with particular attention given to its cultural history.