Wilhelm Adolf Schmidt (26 September 1812, Berlin – 10 April 1887) was a German historian.

He studied at Berlin, in 1839 becoming a lecturer there, and in 1845 professor. In 1851, he became professor for history at the University of Zürich; nine years, he went to the University of Jena, where he remained for the rest of his life. He was a member of the Frankfurt Parliament in 1848, and of the German Reichstag from 1874 to 1876.

This is his main body of work, mostly limited to the 19th century. The most important are:

• Geschichte der Denk- und Glaubensfreiheit im ersten Jahrhundert der Kaiserherrschaft und des Christentums (1847)
• Preussens deutsche Politik (Berlin, 1850, and other editions)
• Geschichte der preussisch-deutschen Unionsbestrebungen (Berlin, 1851)
• Zeitgenössische Geschichten: I. Frankreich von 1815 bis 1830. II. Oesterreich von 1830 bis 1848 (Berlin, 1859)
• Elsass und Lothringen (Leipzig, 1859 and 1870)
• Geschichte der deutschen Verfassungsfrage während der Befreiungskriege und des Wiener Kongresses (Stuttgart, 1890), which was published after his death by A Stern.

He edited the 8th issue of Karl Friedrich Becker's Weltgeschichte, 22 vols. (Leipzig, 1874–79).

• Tableaux de la Révolution Française publiés sur les papiers inédits du département de la police secrete de Paris (Leipzig, 1867-1870)
• Pariser Zustände während der Revolutionszeit (Jena, 1874—1876), translated into French by Paul Viollet (Paris, 1880—1885)
• Das Perikleische Zeitalter (Jena, 1877—1879)
• Handbuch der griechischen Chronologie (Jena, 1888)
• Abhandlungen zur alten Geschichte (Leipzig, 1888).

• The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Schmidt, Wilhelm Adolf". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This work in turn cites:
  • H. Landwehr, Zur Erinnerung an Adolf Schmidt (Berlin, 1887).
• Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Schmidt, Wilhelm Adolf" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

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