Friedrich Schiller

Born: 1759 | Died: 1805

Writer

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, dramatist, philosopher and historian. He was born in Marbach am Neckar in southwestern Germany. His father Johann Kaspar Schiller was a military doctor, who provided a good education for his son and regularly took him to see plays. It is said that this inspired Schiller’s interest in drama and literature.

Schiller’s dramas are powerful expressions of the idea of striving for the eternal values of freedom and self-determination which were quite popular with German-Americans, especially the Forty-Eighters. In 1859, for example, the centennial of Schiller’s birth was widely celebrated in the US by German-Americans.

Among Schiller’s best-known dramatic works are: “Die Räuber” (“The Robbers”), “Kabale und Liebe” (“Intrigue and Love”), “Don Carlos,” “Wallenstein” (“The Wallenstein Trilogy”), “Maria Stuart”, “Die Jungfrau von Orleans” (“The Maid of Orleans”), “Die Braut von Messina” (“The Bride of Messina”) and “Wilhelm Tell”.

Schiller’s close friendship with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, they both lived in Weimar, was not only inspiring to both, the creative collaboration between two geniuses was legendary in its time. In 1802 Schiller was ennobled for his achievements by the Duke of Weimar.

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