Biography
Born in South Boston, Massachusetts, he was the second of three sons of recent German immigrants, Charles Rudolph and Johanna Rockenbach. His elder brother Rudolph Langer became a mathematician and younger brother Walter Charles Langer, a psychoanalyst.
When William was only three years old, his father died unexpectedly, leaving the family in difficult circumstances. Nevertheless, his mother, who supported the family by working as a dressmaker, made education a priority for her children. After studying at the Boston Latin School, Langer attended Harvard University. Being fluent in German, he then taught German at Worcester Academy while furthering his own education with courses on international relations at Clark University.
His job and education were interrupted by service in the United States Army on the frontlines in France during World War I. After the war, he returned to his studies and obtained his Ph.D. in 1923. In 1921, he married Susanne Katherina Langer (née Knauth) who became a noted philosopher. They had two sons together, though later divorced.
He then taught Modern European history at Clark University for four years before accepting an assistant professorship at Harvard. In 1936, Langer was appointed the first incumbent of the Archibald Coolidge chair.
With the help of other scholars during the 1930s, Langer completely revised the Epitome of History by German Scholar Karl Ploetz. Langer’s massive work was published in 1940 under the title An Encyclopedia of World History. Its fifth edition (1972) is the last to be edited by Langer. Peter N. Stearns and thirty other prominent historians edited the sixth edition, published in 2001. Stearns paid tribute to Langer's great achievement in the introduction to the new edition.
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