Kenneth F. Ledford is an associate professor of history and law at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, 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 published From General Estate to Special Interest: German Lawyers 1878-1933, as well as numerous articles and reviews, and he served as editor of the scholarly journal Central European History from 2004 to 2014. His current research explores the Prussian judiciary from the Revolution of 1848 to 1914.   

Kenneth 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, an adult continuing education program at Case Western Reserve, and he has led educational travel to Berlin as well.  Earlier in his career, he was a research fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C., where he continues to serve as a member of the Academic Advisory Council. Kenneth holds a BA in history and a JD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, as well as a master’s and PhD in history from Johns Hopkins University.