Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749–1832)

Johann Wolfgang von GoetheAnecdote...

In 1830, Goethe's dissipated son August, who had caused his father much disappointment and care, died in Rome. When the news was brought to Goethe, he said "I was not unaware that I had begotten a mortal."


Biographical Note...

German poet, novelist, playwright, and scholar. With his friend Friedrich Schiller, Goethe was the leading spirit in the Sturm und Drang period of German literature. His autobiographical novel, "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (1774), was acclaimed all over Europe. In 1775 he settled at the court of Weimar and turned this small German town into a major cultural center. He wrote a number of plays and translated works in other European languages into German, but his greatest fame rests on his poetic drama "Faust" (1808, 1832) and his "Wilhelm Meister" novels (1795-96, 1829), which explore in their different ways the pilgrimage of the human soul. He also made contributions to botany and comparative anatomy.


More Information...

READ a short biography of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Or find other books by and about Johann Wolfgang von Goethe for further reading.