Helmut Koenigsberger

Helmut Georg Koenigsberger FBA (24 October 1918 – 8 March 2014) was a German-born British historian and academic. He was professor of history at King's College London from 1973 to 1984 and head of its history department.

Early life Koenigsberger was born in Berlin, the son of Georg Koenigsberger (d. 1932), chief architect of the borough of Treptow, and Käthe, a sister of the physicist Max Born. His elder brother was the architect and planner Otto Königsberger. The second was titled "English merchants in Naples and Sicily in the seventeenth century" and was published in The English Historical Review in 1947. His doctoral thesis was published as a monograph in 1951 with the title "The Government of Sicily Under Philip II of Spain: A Study in the Practice of Empire".

Koenigsberger joined Queen's University, Belfast as a lecturer in economic history in 1948. His research covered early modern Europe, and he is credited with its establishment as "a distinct and unified field of study". He is also credited with developing the idea of "composite monarchy" (or "composite state").

Personal life In 1961, Koenigsberger married Dorothy M. Romano. Together they had twin daughters, Laura and Francesca.

Koenigsberger was a keen violinist, and fell badly protecting his violin. This fall preceded his death, and he died on 8 March 2014, aged 95.

Honours Koenigsberger was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 1989. He was made a Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the King of Spain in 1997. He was made an Honorary Fellow of King's College (FKC) in 1999, the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual by King's College London.