 ", "Gymnasium") in Hamburg, before he became in 1913 a professor ordinarius in Kiel.After brief military service in World War I he became in 1918 a professor in Dorpat and in 1920 the successor to Albert Wangerin (1844–1933) at the University of Halle, where he remained until his retirement as professor emeritus in 1948.In Halle he was not only a professor but also one of the directors of mathematical seminars and dean of the mathematical and sciences faculty and until 1951 he continued to give lectures.