Friedrich Schiller

1759 – 1805 · died at about 46^[1][2]

Literature

Fun Facts About Friedrich Schiller

• Friedrich Schiller's tomb in Weimar is now empty: in 2008 DNA tests showed that the skull long believed to be his was not Schiller's.^[1]
• Schiller's first play, The Robbers, was so admired for its revolutionary ideals that he was later made an honorary member of the French Republic.^[1]
• Schiller trained as a doctor, and as a regimental doctor he left his post without permission to see the premiere of The Robbers, earning 14 days in prison and a ban on publishing.^[1]
• A bronze of Schiller given by New York's German-American community in 1859 was the first sculpture ever installed in Central Park.^[1]
• Beethoven set Schiller's Ode to Joy in his Ninth Symphony, yet he wrote that Schiller was hard to set to music: "In this respect Goethe is much easier".^{[1][3][4][5][6]}
• Schiller was named after King Frederick the Great, but nearly everyone called him Fritz.^[1][7][8]
• Friedrich Schiller was alive at the same time as Carl Linnaeus — their lives overlapped for 19 years (1759–1778).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Friedrich Schiller shares a birthday with Martin Luther: both were born on November 10.^{[1][2][11][12]}

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered to be one of Germany's most important classical playwrights. He was one of the most important figures of the Sturm und Drang movement.^[1]

Contemporaries

James Watt

46 yr overlap

Thomas Jefferson

46 yr overlap

Francisco Goya

46 yr overlap

Edward Jenner

46 yr overlap

John Adams

46 yr overlap

Joseph Haydn

46 yr overlap

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

46 yr overlap

James Madison

46 yr overlap

Immanuel Kant

45 yr overlap

Hokusai

45 yr overlap

Toussaint Louverture

44 yr overlap

George Washington

40 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Friedrich Schiller

When was Friedrich Schiller born?

Friedrich Schiller was born on November 10, 1759, and died on May 9, 1805.

How old was Friedrich Schiller at death?

Friedrich Schiller was born on November 10, 1759, and died on May 9, 1805, at age 45.

What was Friedrich Schiller known for?

Friedrich Schiller was known for: German poet of the Ode to Joy. Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered to be one of Germany's most important classical playwrights. He was one of the most important figures of the Sturm und Drang movement.

Who was alive at the same time as Friedrich Schiller?

Friedrich Schiller's closest contemporary was James Watt. Their lives overlapped for 46 years.