Lyndal Roper, who was born in Australia, is a highly regarded historian whose main research focus is on German cultural, religious, and social history of the early modern period. Her award-winning research explores the history of gender roles, sexuality, the body, witch hunts, and the Reformation. She received the prestigious Gerda Henkel Prize in 2016 for a biography of Martin Luther, the German leader of the Reformation. Roper studied history at the universities of Melbourne and Tübingen. She earned her doctorate at King’s College London and taught at Royal Holloway College in London and at Balliol College in Oxford. She is the first woman to hold the Regius Chair of Modern History at Oriel College at the University of Oxford, a position she has held since 2011. The chair was established in 1728 by King George II.

Professor Roper will first use the Humboldt Research Award beginning in September 2019 to do research in Prof. Dr. Hacke’s group in Berlin. She will return for more research stays over a five-year period. She is currently doing research on the German Peasants’ War (1524–1526) and how its commemoration affects German identity.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation annually awards up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards in recognition of outstanding achievements. The award winners are invited to work in a long-term project with colleagues at a German research institute.