Nobel Prize 2: Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903)

'The History of Italy falls into two main sections: (1) its internal history down to its union under the leadership of the Latin stock, and (2) the history of its sovereignty over the world.'

Apparently, 'Mommsen came to take the view that the French were fundamentally Celts, like the Irish, and consequently that it was the Germans, not the modern Latin peoples, who most truly represented the values of the ancient Romans.' Which seems slightly suspect from a post-1945 perspective.

Next time: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.