Franz Bosbach (born 11 January 1952) is a German historian and .
Bosbach was born in Bornheim, a small town situated on the left bank of the Rhine, between Cologne and Bonn.
He received his doctorate from Bonn University in 1981 for a piece of analytical research on the longer lasting effects of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. His habilitation (higher academic qualification), also from Bonn followed in 1986, this time for a piece of work entitled "Monarchia Universalis. Ein politischer Leitbegriff der frühen Neuzeit" ("Universal monarchy: a political precept for the early modern period"). Between 1987 and 1989 he was supported by a bursary from the German Research Foundation's .
In 1989 Bosbach was appointed visiting fellow at Clare College, Cambridge. He held a teaching chair in early modern history between 1989 and 2008 at the recently established University of Bayreuth, where between 2005 and 2008 he served as vice-president for study and teaching. Between 1995 and 2008 he was also "at the helm" of the Anglo-German (Coburg based) Prince Albert Society.
In 2008 he switched to the University of Duisburg-Essen where he was elected full-time vice-rector for study and teaching. His term in office ended in 2014, since which time he has remained at the university as a professor of early modern history.
In 2024, the University of Preà ¡ov awarded him the title of Dr.h.c.(Preà ¡ovská univerzita v Preà ¡ove).