Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann

In 1842 he became professor ordinarius at the University of Rostock, but in 1845 he returned to Erlangen as the successor to Gottlieb Christoph Adolf von Harless, founder of the journal Zeitschrift für Protestantismus und Kirche.

While he operated with a conservative biblical hermeneutic, he was a member of a progressive political party, and served as its representative (for Erlangen and Fürth) in the Bavarian parliament between 1863 and 1868.

[6] Hofmann's contribution to the history of Christian theology resides in four main areas: his reflections on biblical hermeneutics, his understanding of the Bible as "Heilsgeschichte" or "salvation history", his understanding of the atonement, and his renewal of trinitarian theology in the wake of Schleiermacher's dogmatics.

According to Hofmann, world history can only be understood properly within the historical self-giving of the triune God who is love.

He was the principal figure in what has been called the Erlangen School,[15] although his unique theological positions frequently put him at odds with his fellow colleagues and set him apart.

Elected provost of Erlangen University more times than any other professor there in the nineteenth century, he was unquestionably the leading figure on that faculty during his years of service.