Karl Schrauf, who later became a historian and archivist at the University of Vienna, was born in Vienna on January 11, 1835.
After studying theology, Schrauf turned to history and began the training course at the Institute for Austrian Historical Research in 1871. In 1872 he became a civil servant at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv. From 1874 he was also an assistant in the university archives and after the death of the university archivist Anton von Hye in 1894 he became his successor. Schrauf was the first university archivist with historical and auxiliary scientific training. In addition to his administrative duties, he published numerous studies on university history and edited important sources. He also opened the archive to the public.
