Conrad Bursian

Who was Conrad Bursian?

Conrad Bursian was a German philologist and archaeologist.

He was born at Mutzschen in Saxony. When his parents moved to Leipzig, he received his early education at Thomasschule zu Leipzig. From 1847 to 1851 he was a student at the University of Leipzig, where his instructors included Moritz Haupt and Otto Jahn. He then spent six months in Berlin, where he attended lectures given by Philipp August Böckh. In 1852 he completed his university studies at Leipzig, spending the next three years traveling in Belgium, France, Italy and Greece.

In 1856 he obtained his habilitation, and two years later was an associate professor in Leipzig. In 1861 he was appointed professor of philology and archaeology at Tübingen; in 1864 he was a professor of classical antiquities at Zürich. From 1869 at Jena, he was a professor and director of the archaeological museum, and in 1874 he relocated to Munich, where he served as a professor until his death.