Leopold von Ranke
Ernst Ludwig was born in Berlin, the son of (1777–1846), a Berlin bookseller. He studied law, classical philology and history, among other things, at Bonn under Johann Wilhelm Löbell, and in Berlin, where his influences were Leopold von Ranke and Wilhelm Wattenbach. His doctorate dissertation, "De Arnulfo Francorum rege" (Berlin, 1852), was a notable essay among historians.