Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

1770 – 1831 · died at about 61^[1][2]

Philosophy & Thought

Fun Facts About Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel shared a room at seminary with the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and the future philosopher Friedrich Schelling, and the three became close friends.^[1]
• Hegel was finishing The Phenomenology of Spirit as Napoleon fought the Battle of Jena outside his city. Seeing Napoleon ride by, he called the emperor "this world-soul."^[1][3][4]
• Before becoming a famous professor, Hegel edited a newspaper in Bamberg and then spent eight years as headmaster of a high school in Nuremberg.^[1]
• Hegel studied at a seminary, but probably only because it was state-funded: he had "a profound distaste for the study of orthodox theology" and never wanted to be a minister.^[1]
• Heinrich Heine wrote that Hegel's last words were "There was only one man who ever understood me, and even he didn't understand me," though some call the quote apocryphal.^[1][5][6]
• In Bamberg, Hegel enjoyed cards, fine eating and the local beer, though he scorned "old Bavaria" and often called it "Barbaria."^[1]
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was alive at the same time as Carl Linnaeus — their lives overlapped for 8 years (1770–1778).^[1][2][7][8]
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel shares a birthday with Lyndon B. Johnson: both were born on August 27.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher and a major figure in the tradition of German idealism. His influence on Western philosophy extends across a wide range of topics—from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy, to philosophy of art and philosophy of religion.^[1]

Contemporaries

Hokusai

61 yr overlap

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

61 yr overlap

Andrew Jackson

61 yr overlap

James Madison

61 yr overlap

John Quincy Adams

61 yr overlap

Francisco Goya

58 yr overlap

Ludwig van Beethoven

57 yr overlap

Thomas Jefferson

56 yr overlap

John Adams

56 yr overlap

Carl Friedrich Gauss

54 yr overlap

Edward Jenner

53 yr overlap

Napoleon Bonaparte

51 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

When was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel born?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born on August 27, 1770, and died on November 14, 1831.

How old was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel at death?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born on August 27, 1770, and died on November 14, 1831, at age 61.

What was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel known for?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was known for: German idealist philosopher. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher and a major figure in the tradition of German idealism. His influence on Western philosophy extends across a wide range of topics—from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy, to philosophy of art and philosophy of religion.

Who was alive at the same time as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's closest contemporary was Hokusai. Their lives overlapped for 61 years.