BERTHOLET, ALFRED (1868–1951), Swiss Protestant theologian, scholar in Old Testament and comparative religion. Bertholet was born in Basel, where he got his primary and secondary school education and enrolled at the university in order to study Protestant theology. He continued his studies at the universities of Strassburg and Berlin. His principal lecturers were Carl von Orelli, Bernhard Duhm, and Adolf von Harnack. After two years as minister to the German-Dutch parish in Leghorn he returned to Basel; there he obtained his doctorate in 1895 and became an assistant professor in 1896; from 1905 he occupied the chair of Old Testament, and extended his studies to the history of religions. After spending some years in Tübingen (1913) and Göttingen (1914–1928) he became professor at the University of Berlin, where he went into retirement in 1936, although he lectured until 1939. From 1945 until his death he was visiting professor of the history of religions...