Karl Julius Ploetz (born on July 8th, 1819 with Berlin; deceased on February 6th, 1881 with Görlitz) was an author of German school handbooks.

Wire of a simple sergeant in the Prussian police force, Karl Julius Ploetz had to stop as of the first year its higher learning in Berlin for lack of money. During three years he lived in Paris giving of the language classes. Of return to Berlin, he worked like tutor, started again to study and passed the doctorate after six six-month periods. Having obtained its examination of professor of college, he was initially substitute, then, of 1848 to 1852, French professor to the Katharineum college of Lübeck, before entering to the French Collège of Berlin. In 1860 it ceased teaching and lived only incomes of its handbooks which had gotten a certain ease to him.

He wrote works for the teaching of French as well as popularizing works historical. In particular the chronology which he wrote and which one knows under the name of Grand Ploetz marked generations of student and historians. A book of 32 pages appeared in French in 1855 and containing the fundamental dates for the courses of history is called Ur-Ploetz . In 1863 the first German edition appeared. The handbooks were published by the publisher A.G. Ploetz been based by his/her son and are it today by the publisher Herder und Co. KG. The Grand Ploetz reached in 2005 its 34ème edition (ISBN 3451405059)