Heinrich Friedrich Otto Abel

He was born at Reichenbach Priory in the Kingdom of Württemberg, a Protestant religious house, where his father was a clergyman.

Beginning in 1824, Abel visited the universities of Tübingen, Jena, Heidelberg, Bonn and Berlin, studying history.

Abel also showed political interest in the revolutions of 1848, and published a tract Das neue deutsche Reich und sein Kaiser ("The New German Empire and his Emperor") n which he enthused about the Kingdom of Prussia.

He quit the diplomatic service in 1850 and in the ensuing period devoted his energies to the Monumenta Germaniae Historica.

In 1851, Abel inaugurated his formal academic career with his appointment as a lecturer ("Privatdozent") at the University of Bonn.