Heinrich Friedrich Otto Abel (22 January 1824, cloister Reichenbach - 28 October 1854, Leonberg ) was a German historian.

His father was a priest in the cloister of Reichenbach in the Black Forest. Beginning in 1824, Abel visited the universities of Tübingen, Jena, Heidelberg, Bonn and Berlin for historical studies. Among his teachers was Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann.

Abel also showed political interest in the events of 1848, and published a tract Das neue deutsche Reich und sein Kaiser where he elated about the new Prussian empire. As a result, he was offered by the Prussian minister of external affairs, Heinrich von Arnim , to take part of the Prussian embassy in Frankfurt. However, his high expectations were deceived over and over again. He quit the diplomatic service in 1850 and in the following worked hard on the Monumenta Germaniae.

In 1851, Abel was promoted to professor of History and worked as a private lecturer in Bonn. Most popular among his scholars was Heinrich von Treitschke. While travelling in 1853, Abel was affected by pulmonary phthisis and died in 1854 in the care of his uncle in Leonberg.

Publications

• Makedonien vor König Philipp, Leipzig, 1847
• Das neue deutsche Reich und sein Kaiser, 1848
• König Philipp der Hohenstaufe, 1852
• Die politische Bedeutung Kölns am Ende des 12. Jahrhunderts, 1852
• Die deutschen Personennamen, 1853
• Theodat, König der Ostgoten, Stuttgart, 1855
• Kaiser Otto IV und König Friderich II, Berlin, post mortem 1856

Sources

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - online version