Schurman Library

Jacob Gould Schurman (1854-1942), professor in philosophy, was president of Cornell University for 28 years before he was appointed as U.S. ambassador to China in 1920. Five years later he took the vacant position of U.S. ambassador to Germany in Berlin. Schurman, due to his studies in Heidelberg, Göttingen and Berlin in the late 1870s, spoke German fluently. As ambassador, Schurman emphasized improvement and consolidation of German-American relations. It was because of these efforts that he became close friends with German Foreign Secretary Gustav Stresemann (1878-1929).

Schurman was appointed honorary citizen of Heidelberg as well as honorary doctor of the University of Heidelberg. In 1927, he initiated a collection of donations in America, which contributed significantly to the building of new lecture halls and seminar rooms in the heart of the Old Town, today known as Neue Universität.

The Schurman Library for American History is located in the University of Heidelberg’s Department of History. Currently it has a total stock of ca. 9000 books.