Wilhelm Wackernagel

Wilhelm Wackernagel (1806–1869)

Wilhelm Wackernagel (23 April 1806, Berlin – 21 December 1869, Basel) was a German-Swiss philologist specializing in Germanic studies. He was the father of Indo-Europeanist Jacob Wackernagel.

Wackernagel studied Classical and Germanic literature at the University of Berlin as a pupil of August Boeckh and Karl Lachmann. In 1833, he moved to Basel, where from 1835 to 1869, he was a professor of German language and literature at the university. While at Basel, he turned down offers for professorships in Berlin, Munich, Tübingen, and Vienna.[1][2]