• Historian of Philosophy Heinz Heimsoeth, 1886

Heimsoeth began his studies at Heidelberg in 1905, but soon transferred to Berlin, where he studied with Wilhelm Dilthey, Alois Riehl and Ernst Cassirer. Due to his interest in Kant he transferred in 1907 to Marburg, where he studied with Hermann Cohen and Paul Natorp. He graduated in 1911 with a thesis on Descartes. After a year studying in Paris with Henri Bergson he was habilitated with a thesis on Leibniz.

After two years teaching at Marburg, he was appointed Professor at the University of Königsberg in 1923. In 1931 he transferred to a chair in philosophy at Cologne.

After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 Heimsoeth himself joined the Nazi Party and was named Dean of the University of Cologne, a position he held until the 1943 / 44 academic year. He became Professor Emeritus in 1954.