Werner L. Gundersheimer, historian, educator, and Director Emeritus of the Folger Shakespeare Library, was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, in 1937. He emigrated to the United States at age 3, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1945. His chief field of scholarship is in European history, 1300-1600, with special emphasis on French and Italian intellectual, social and urban history.
Dr. Gundersheimer attended Amherst College, graduating in the Class of 1959. He received an M.A. (1960) and Ph.D. (1963) from Harvard University. He has held academic appointments (often visiting or adjunct) at numerous institutions including the University of Pennsylvania (1966-68, 1972-84) and Amherst College (1986-2002). Dr. Gundersheimer was appointed Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in 1984. During his tenure (1984-2002), he addressed serious financial challenges caused in part by the recessionary inflation of the 1970s, initiating fund-raising and capital campaigns. Gundersheimer strengthened the core functions of cataloging and acquisitions, added scholarly fellowships, and placed a new emphasis on exhibitions as both scholarly endeavors and public outreach. At this time the library also completed the work of putting its catalog online.
From the guide to the Werner L. Gundersheimer (AC 1959) Papers, 1940-2004, (Amherst College Archives and Special Collections)
