Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Kenneth F. Ledford is Associate Professor of History and Law at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where he has taught since 1991.  A specialist in the history of modern Germany, his scholarship has focused on the history of German law, legal professions, and legal professionals since 1815.  He has published From General Estate to Special Interest: German Lawyers 1878-1933 (Cambridge University Press, 1996), numerous articles and reviews, and he was Editor of the scholarly journal Central European History from 2004-14.  His current research is on the Prussian judiciary from the Revolution of 1848 to 1914.   He holds a BA in history and a JD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an MA and PhD in history from Johns Hopkins University.  He has lived and researched in Germany, particularly in Göttingen and Berlin, and traveled broadly in western, central, and southern Europe.  He regularly teaches in the Senior Scholars program at CWRU, an adult continuing education program, and he has led educational travel in Europe.  Before coming to Case Western Reserve, he served as Research Fellow at the German Historical Institute, Washington, DC and continues to serve there as a member of its Academic Advisory Council.