Heinrich von Sybel

Sybel, Heinrich von (hīn'rĭkh fən zē'bəl), 1817-95, German historian. He studied under Ranke at the Univ. of Berlin, but later abandoned the Rankean striving for objective history; he began to take an active part in politics and promoted the nationalist and Protestant causes in his speeches and writings. In 1859, Sybel founded the Historische Zeitschrift. After 1875 he was director of the Prussian state archives, which he used extensively for his chief work, Founding of the German Empire by William I (tr., 7 vol., 1890-98). His other works include a history of the revolutionary period from 1789 to 1800, part of which was translated as History of the French Revolution (4 vol., 1867-79).