Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Born: 1749 | Died: 1832

Writer

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main. This German poet, playwright, novelist, and scientist, statesman is probably Germany’s most celebrated author and considered by many to be the greatest German literary figure of the modern era.

Goethe studied law in Leipzig and Strasbourg and later lived in Weimar, where he was ennobled in 1782. Goethe was one of the great intellectuals of his time. In addition to writing many brilliant plays, poems, novels and autobiographical works, he painted and drew. He also had a lifelong interest in natural sciences and pursued studies in geology, biology and anatomy.

His sublime view of nature and art was often reflected in his works and mixed with the mystical. “Faust,” most likely Goethe’s best known drama in the US, tells the story of a man who offers his soul to the devil in exchange for earthly fulfillment.

Goethe succeeded, as few others did, in making his life an example of the full range of human potential. He died in Weimar in 1832 internationally recognized as the literary giant of his time.

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