[1] Walther came from a religious home and studied botany, zoology, and philosophy at the University of Jena.

Then he studied geology and palaeontology in Leipzig and later Munich.

Among other things, he ran extensive sedimentological and biological studies.

Walther moved to the University of Halle in 1906, staying until 1929.

Whilst there, he was in 1924 elected president of the prestigious German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, an office he held until 1931.