洪堡基金是为纪念德国伟大的自然科学家和科学考察旅行家亚历山大·封·洪堡于1860年在柏林建立的。1923年之前,洪堡基金仅资助德国学者到外国进行科学考察,1925年后,这项基金转为支持外国科学家和博士研究生在德国学习。1945年,基金会停止了活动。根据原洪堡学者的倡议,基金会于1953年12月10日由联邦德国再次 The Humboldt Foundation was established in Berlin in 1860 by Alexander Humboldt, Germany's great natural scientist and scientific traveler. Prior to 1923, the Humboldt Foundation funded only German scholars to conduct scientific investigations in foreign countries. After 1925, the fund was turned to support foreign scientists and doctoral students studying in Germany. In 1945, the Foundation stopped its activities. According to the initiative of the former Humboldt Scholar, the Foundation was re-established by the Federal Republic of Germany on December 10, 1953