Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[a] (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language.
Explore the history of the Goethe-Institut and discover surprising, curious, and fascinating moments from more than 75 years of international cultural and language work.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, and critic who was considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. He is especially known for the drama Faust, considered by some to be Germany’s most significant contribution to world literature.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | Biography, Works, Faust, & Facts - Britannica
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is the most influential German literary figure in history. Learn more about his life, science, and philosophy. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath whose interdisciplinary contributions were indispensable to our collective intellectual evolution.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt, Germany. His father was the Imperial Councillor Johann Kaspar Goethe (1710-1782) and his mother Katharina Elisabeth (Textor) Goethe (1731-1808). Goethe had four siblings, only one of whom, Cornelia, survived early childhood.
These words from Goethe’s “Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy” do not only reflect his wisdom as a poet and thinker but also his own philosophy of life. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, born on 28 August 1749 in Frankfurt on Main, strove for knowledge and personal fulfilment, even at a young age.
One of the preeminent figures in German literature, poet, playwright, and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1749. The child of an imperial councilor, Goethe had a thoroughly classical education before entering Leipzig University in 1765.