Karl Ernst Ranke was the son of anthropologist Johannes Ranke (18361916), then in 1896, he received his medical doctorate from the University of Munich, afterward in 1906, he returned to Munich, where he practiced pediatrics.
He was the son of anthropologist Johannes Ranke (18361916). In 1896 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Munich, then spent the following year as an assistant to his uncle, Heinrich von Ranke (18301909), at the pediatric clinic in Munich. In 1906, he returned to Munich, where he practiced pediatrics, and specialized in diseases of the lung. 
