Bissing, Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1873-1956

Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing (22 April 1873, Potsdam – 12 January 1956, Oberaudorf am Inn), also Friedrich Wilhelm, graf von Bissingen und Nippenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bissing, or Baron von Bissingen, was a German Egyptologist. He was the son of Prussian general Moritz Ferdinand von Bissing (1844–1917). He studied classical philology, archaeology, Egyptology and art history in Bonn and Berlin, obtaining his doctorate in 1896 with the thesis "De tabula quam dicunt statistica Tuthmosis III commentatio(Commentary on the record of the statistics of Tuthmosis III)". After graduation, he spent considerable time in Egypt, performing museum and excavatory work. He was instrumental towards the development of the "General catalog" of the Cairo Museum (Catalogue général des antiquités Egyptiennes du Musée du Caire), and with Ludwig Borchardt, conducted an archaeological excavation of the Sun Temple of Nyuserre Ini at Abu Gurab. In 1900 he received his habilitation at the University of Munich, where he later attained the posts of associate professor (1905) and full professor (1906). From 1922 until his retirement in 1926, he served as a professor at the University of Utrecht. For the last 30 years of his life he worked as a private scholar in the town of Oberaudorf am Inn.