Franz-Josef Brÿggemeier studied at the Universities of Bremen and Essen, and became a Professor at the University of Hannover in 1995. In 1998, he moved to the University of Freiburg, where he was a Professor of Economic, Social, and Environmental History until his retirement in 2018. He has been a visiting Professor at the Universities of York and Harvard, and has organised a number of exhibitions on subjects such as Coal in Europe and the History of Football.