Dia menempuh pendidikan di universitas-universitas di Leipzig, Berlin, dan Greifswald (Ph.D., 1869). Dia berada di layanan bea cukai maritim Tiongkok dari 1870 sampai 1897. Pada tahun 1902, Profesor Hirth diangkat untuk jabatan guru besar bidang studi Tiongkok di Universitas Columbia (Kota New York).
"The Hoppo-Book of 1753". Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 17: 221–235. 1882. Translates and annotates a merchant log dealing the with the Superintendent of Customs or "Hoppo".
China and the Roman Orient: Researches into their Ancient and Mediœval Relations as Represented in Old Chinese Records (1885)[1][2]Diarsipkan 2014-08-20 di Wayback Machine. [3][4]