Hohenheim Elric

Hohemheim is the husband of Trisha Elric and the father of Ed and Al. He is not a state Alchemist, though is known well in the military... or at least to some in the military. When Al was still only a baby he would stay in his study reading his alchemy books, not paying any attention to his family or duties as a father and husband. After a few years he leaves home...and never returns. It is because of Hohemheim's lack of fatherly attention to Ed and Al that Edward hates his father. That and the fact that he didn't even come home for Trisha's funeral. Ed and Al tried to contact him from the letters he had sent to friends over the years, but he never returns and seems to have not only vanished from the lives of his family...but off the face of the Earth. Hohemheim is also somehow linked with the villains known as the Sins.

Hohenheim's body may be about 40 years old, but his soul is over 400. Apparently he's been using a Philosipher's Stone to switch his soul from body to body, which we learn in episode 47.

Hohenheim is the father of Envy. Envy was the child of Hohenheim and Dante who died of Mercury poisioning. In attempting to bring Envy back, Hohenheim abandoned his attempts and left. That is why Envy loaths the Elric name.

Editor's Note: There is a little debate about the official spelling of this character's name, either Hohemheim or Hohenheim. In episode 3, his name can be clearly seen written as "Hohemheim" on some envelopes, and three times no less. However, in the US dub it clearly sounds as if the name is pronounced with an "N". And so I am calling the US spelling "Hohenheim" and the Japanese spelling "Hohemheim".