He was born in Venezuela as the son of a German businessman.
In the 1902/3 season he participated in the excavations of the pyramid of Nyuserre Ini under Ludwig Borchardt.
In the 1905/6 season, he excavated at Abu Sir al Malaq.
He returned to Berlin and worked as Privatdozent at Humboldt University from 1912, promoted to professor in 1916.
His most notable contributions are in the field of hieratic writing and Egyptian paleography.