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Born in Peine near Hanover, Otto attended the Gymnasium Adreanum in Hildesheim and studied at the universities of Erlangen and Göttingen, from where he received both his doctorate (with a dissertation on Luther) and habilitation on Kant. In 1906, he became extraordinary professor (see professorA professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. Overview Professors give lectures and seminars in their field of study, such as science or literature. They also do advanced research in their fields and are supposed to d), and in 1910 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of GiessenThe University of Giessen (Giessen officially called Justus Liebig-Universitat Giessen after its most famous member, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertilizer. The University of Giessen was founded in 1607 as a Lut. In 1915Events January 12 The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of Congress. January 12 United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote. January 13 An earthquake (6. 8 in Richter scale) in Avezzano, Ital, he became ordinary professor at the University of Breslau , and in 1917, at the University of Marburg's Divinity School, then one of the most famous Protestant in the world. Although he received several other calls, he remained in Marburg for the rest of his life. He retired in 1929Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 See also 1929 in aviation 1929 in film 1929 in literature 1929 in mu and died eight years later, probably as a consequence from a malariaMalaria ( Italian: bad air ; formerly called ague or marsh fever in English) is an infectious disease which causes about 500 million infections and 2 million deaths annually, mainly in the tropics and sub-Saharan Africa. The protozoan cause of malaria was infectionInfection" is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. The colonizing organism interferes with the normal functioning he had caught on one of his many expeditions. He is buried on Marburg cemetery.
Otto's most famous work, The Idea of the Holy (published first in 1917 as Das Heilige), is the one most successful German theological books of the 20th century; it has never been out of print and is today available in about 20 languages. It defines the concept of the holy of that of the numinous, something that is both fascinating and terrifying (fascinans and tremens) at the same time. It also sets a paradigm for the study of religion that focuses on the need to realize the religious as a non-reducible, original category in its own right. This paradigm was under much attack between appr. 1950 and 1990 but is making a strong come-back today.