In 1869 Braune entered the
University of Leipzig, where he was approved as an instructor in 1874. In 1877 he was appointed as extraordinary professor at the
University of Giessen and became an ordinary professor of German language and literature there in 1880. He later served as a professor at the
University of Heidelberg. He is an important representative of the
Neogrammarians. Among his most lasting achievements were his works on the history of the Germanic languages. Editions of his grammars and anthologies of
Old High German and
Gothic are still in use today. In 1873 he also founded, together with
Hermann Paul, the Germanic studies journal
Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur often referred to among scholars as
Pauls und Braunes Beiträge (or
PBB) and which remains one of the leading journals in Germanic philology to this day. He was the recipient of a
Festschrift on the occasion of his 70th birthday, entitled
Aufsätze zur Sprach- und Literaturgeschichte. Wilhelm Braune zum 20. Februar 1920 dargebracht von Freunden und Schülern (Dortmund: Ruhfus, 1920). == Publications ==