Hermann Walter was born in Basel, Switzerland, and studied at the University of Neuchâtel and at Edinburgh University, where he received his M.A. He earned his doctorate in oriental languages, specializing in Sanskrit and Pali, from the University of Tubingen. After teaching in private schools and colleges in Great Britain, Walter came to Montréal in 1900 to take up a post as lecturer in modern languages at McGill. After only a few months, he was appointed Professor and head of the department. The department was divided in 1922 and Walter became Chairman of the Department of Germanic Languages. In 1936, he retired as Emeritus Professor. Walter was a prolific writer and speaker; his major work was a study of Heine which appeared in 1931. He was a founder of the Montréal branch of the Goethe Society of America, and had a special interest in drama, producing plays by German and Scandinavian dramatists both at McGill and at the Montréal Repertory Theatre.