Wilhelm von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt

Wilhelm von Humboldt (6/22/1767 4/8/1835) founder of the University of Berlin. Humboldt was a philosopher and theorist on the subject of education. He served as Prussian minister of Education and developed the technical schools and Gymnasium that has been a feature of German education from that time. His treatise On public state education (1792) created the template of German education for the next 80 years.
Paulsen, F. (1908). German education, past and present. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Paul Ludwig Adalbert Falk

Paul Ludwig Adalbert Falk (8/10/1827-7/7/ 1900).Minister of Education 1872-79. Reformer of German education system. Codifier of Falk Laws reducing the influence of the Catholic Church in German Schools. He was also influential in the creation of schools for higher education for women, and published requirements for teachers of primary and secondary education primarily that all must have gone to a university for certification.
Paulsen, F. (1908). German education, past and present. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 May 6, 1952). Founder of the Montessori Method an educational system that has a continued global influence. Germany was an early advocate of her influence. Many of the elementary schools continue to recognize her sensory education methods in early child development. Montessori was also inflectional in developing methods for education of developmentally challenged children many of these are also incorporated into German special schools for the handicapped.
Kramer, Rita (1976). Maria Montessori. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.