Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

1844 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche born in Röcken (Saxony) on October 15, son of Karl Ludwig and Franziska Nietzsche. His father and both grandfathers are Protestant clergymen. 1846 Birth of sister Elisabeth. 1849 Birth of brother Joseph; death of father due to “softening of the brain” following a fall. 1850 Death of brother; family moves to Naumburg. 1858-64 Attends renowned Pforta boarding school, where he excels in classics. 1862 Writes his first philosophical essays on fate, history, and freedom of the will under the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 1864 Enters Bonn University to study theology and classical philology. 1865 Follows his classics professor to Leipzig University, where he drops theology and continues with studies in classical philology. Discovers Schopenhauer's philosophy. 1867–8 Military service in Naumburg, until invalided out after a riding accident. 1868 Back in Leipzig, meets Richard Wagner for the first time and becomes a devotee. Increasing disaffection with philology: plans to go to Paris to study chemistry. 1869 Appointed Extraordinary (Associate) Professor of Classical Philology at Basel University and teacher of Greek at the associated grammar school. Awarded doctorate without examination; renounces Prussian citizenship and applies for Swiss citizenship without success (he lacks the necessary residential qualification and is stateless for the rest of ... log in or subscribe to read full text