| 1969 | Born in Hamburg (married, one son) |
| 1988-1993 | Studies (History, Political Science, German) at the universities of Osnabrück, Vienna, and Rostock |
| 1995–1997 | Research Assistant at the Department of History at the University of Tübingen, Institute for Modern History |
| 1997 | PhD, University of Tübingen |
| 1997-2003 | Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Tübingen, Institute for Modern History |
| 2003 | Habilitation (post-doc degree) at the University of Tübingen |
| 2003-2011 | Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Tübingen |
winter semster 2005/06, winter semester 2007/08 and summer semester2008 | Visiting Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Jena |
| 2006 | Appointment as Professor (extraordinary) (Tübingen) |
| 2011-2014 | Term Professor (Tübingen) |
| Since summer semester 2015 | Visiting Professor of Early Modern European History at the University of Potsdam |
