HEIMBUCHER, MAXIMILIAN JOSEPH. — Apologist and historian, born in Miesbach (Bavaria) on 10 June 1856, died there on 24 August 1946. Professor of apologetics and dogmatics at the University of Munich (1887–91), then at Bamberg (1891–1924).
Besides several works of a local-historical character, he deserves credit for various apologetic writings, often intended for popular exposition. But his best-known and most valuable work is Die Orden und Kongregationen der katholischen Kirche (1st ed., 2 vols., Paderborn 1896–97; 2nd ed., 3 vols., there 1907–1908; 3rd ed., 2 vols., there 1933–34). It is the most comprehensive general work on the Orders and Congregations, with historical, statistical, and bibliographical information, often presented in a successful concise form.