Wilhelm Wackernagel

Wilhelm Wackernagel (; 23 April 1806, Berlin – 21 December 1869, Basel) was a German-Swiss philologist specializing in Germanic studies. He was the father of Indo-Europeanist Jacob Wackernagel.

Wackernagel studied Classical and Germanic literature at the University of Berlin as a pupil of August Boeckh and Karl Lachmann. In 1833, he moved to Basel, where from 1835 to 1869, he was a professor of German language and literature at the university. While at Basel, he turned down offers for professorships in Berlin, Munich, Tübingen, and Vienna.

Works He was considered the leading Germanist after the death of Jacob Grimm in 1863. Deutsches Lesebuch, 1835–1843 (3 volumes) – German basal reader. Geschichte der deutschen Litteratur : ein Handbuch, 1848-1855 – History of German literature. Die deutsche glasmalerei: Geschichtlicher entwurf mit belegen, 1855 – German stained glass; historical design. Kleinere Schriften von Wilhelm Wackernagel, 1872 – Smaller writings. Poetik, Rhetorik und Stilistik: Academische Vorlesungen, 1873 (edited by Ludwig Sieber) – Poetics, rhetoric and stylistics; Academic lectures. Johann Fischart von Strassburg, 1874 – monograph on Johann Fischart. Altdeutsches handwörterbuch, 1878 (edited by Maximilian Rieger) – Old German dictionary. Kleineres altdeutsches Lesebuch, 1880 – Smaller Old German basal reader.