DAHLMANN, FRIEDRICH CHRISTIAN (1785-1860), a distinguished German historian and politician, was born on the 13th May 1785, at Wismar. He studied philology at the universities of Copenhagen and Halle, and at the age of twenty-five took his doctor's degree in that subject. He had already delivered lectures at Dresden ; and in 1812 he was appointed professor of history at Kiel. His devotion to historical study had been caused by his wish to take a useful and intelligent part in contemporary politics. In 1815 he was made secretary to the permanent deputation of the prelates and nobles of Schleswig Holstein, in which position his influence was exerted against the policy of the Danish Government, and he henceforth took a prominent place among moderate liberals. In 1829 he was chosen professor of the science of politics in the university of Gottingen. Two or three years later he was engaged in drawing up the Hanoverian constitution of 1833. In 1837, when that constitution was abolished by Ernest Augustus, Dahlmann so strongly opposed the king's policy that he was banished from Hanover. lie retired to Leipsic, and then to Jena, where he gave his time to the study of history and the pro. duction of his most important works. In 1842 Dahlmann became professor of history and the science of politics at Bonn. In 1848 he was chosen a member of the committee of seventeen which was appointed to draw up a new, German constitution ; and he was elected member of the National Assembly of Frankfort. He distinguished himself as an advocate of the election of the king of Prussia as emperor of Germany. He was indeed so much regarded as a leader that he was requested to form a ministry ; but his attempt was unsuccessful. In March 1849, when the Parliament rejected the constitution, Dahlmann, who had been opposed to the armistice of Malmoe, retired, with many of his followers, from the Parliament, and joined the assembly of Gotha, in which he still advocated the unifica- tion of Germany under the king of Prussia. He also worked in the same cause in the assembly of Erfurt and the Prussian diet. When that cause appeared hopeless, he retired from politics; and the rest of his life was spent in study, and in fulfilling the duties of the chair which he still held at Bonn. He died on the 5th December 1860.

The chief works of Dahlmann are a valuable Geschiehte Miasmal-les (3 vols. 1840-3), Gesehichte des Englisehen Revolution (1845 and 1853), Gesehichte des Franzosischen Revolution (1844 and 1853), Forschungen auf don Goblets der deutschen Gescliehte (1822-3), Chronik von Dithnutrsen (1827), Politik auf den G111,7241 and des Mesa der gegebenen Zustande zurilekgefilhrt (1835 and 1847) ; Quellculcunole der dentschen Geschiate (1830 and 1875).

See Springer, Friedrich Christian Rahlniann (1870-2).