Sir
In contrast to the assertion made in your Editorial “Berlin's university crisis” (Nature 423, 101; 2003), the famous principle of the “unity of teaching and research” that forms the conceptual basis of modern academic education was not developed by the natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859); neither was he the “founder of the modern German higher-education system”.
These achievements were those of his brother, the politician and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), who in 1810 founded the university of Berlin that carries his name today.
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Peters, W. Separate achievements of the Humboldt brothers. Nature 423, 480 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/423480d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/423480d