Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller

Friedrich Schiller
Portrait by Ludovike Simanowiz (1794)
Born	Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller (1759-11-10)10 November 1759 Marbach am Neckar, Württemberg, Germany
Died	9 May 1805(1805-05-09) (aged 45) Weimar, Saxe-Weimar
Occupation	Poet, playwright, writer, historian, philosopher
Nationality	German
Literary movement	Sturm und Drang, Weimar Classicism
Notable works	The Robbers Don Carlos Wallenstein Trilogy Mary Stuart William Tell
Spouse	Charlotte von Lengefeld (1790–1805, his death)
Children	Karl Ludwig Friedrich (1793–1857), Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm (1796–1841), Karoline Luise Friederike (1799–1850), Emilie Henriette Luise (1804–1872)
Relatives	Johann Kaspar Schiller (father), Elisabeth Dorothea Schiller, born Kodweiß (mother)
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Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (German: [ˈjoːhan ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈfʁiːdʁɪç fɔn ˈʃɪlɐ]; 10 November 1759 – 9 May 1805) was a German poet, philosopher, physician, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with the already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. They frequently discussed issues concerning aesthetics, and Schiller encouraged Goethe to finish works he left as sketches. This relationship and these discussions led to a period now referred to as Weimar Classicism. They also worked together on Xenien, a collection of short satirical poems in which both Schiller and Goethe challenge opponents to their philosophical vision.

Friedrich Schiller was born on 10 November 1759, in Marbach, Württemberg as the only son of military doctor Johann Kaspar Schiller (1733–1796) and Elisabeth Dorothea Kodweiß (1732–1802). Schiller grew up in a very religious family and spent much of his youth studying the Bible, which would later influence his writing for the theatre. They also had five daughters. His father was away in the Seven Years' War when Friedrich was born. He was named after king Frederick the Great, but he was called Fritz by nearly everyone. Kaspar Schiller was rarely home during the war, but he did manage to visit the family once in a while. His wife and children also visited him occasionally wherever he happened to be stationed. When the war ended in 1763, Schiller's father became a recruiting officer and was stationed in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The family moved with him. Due to the high cost of living—especially the rent—the family moved to nearby Lorch.

Although the family was happy in Lorch, Schiller's father found his work unsatisfying. He sometimes took his son with him. In Lorch, Schiller received his primary education. The quality of the lessons was fairly bad, and Friedrich regularly cut class with his older sister. Because his parents wanted Schiller to become a pastor, they had the pastor of the village instruct the boy in Latin and Greek. Pastor Moser was a good teacher, and later Schiller named the cleric in his first play Die Räuber (The Robbers) after him. As a boy, Schiller was excited by the idea of becoming a cleric and often put on black robes and pretended to preach.