Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

1749 – 1832 · died at about 83^[1][2]

Literature

Fun Facts About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe met Napoleon in 1808, and the two discussed Voltaire and The Sorrows of Young Werther, which Napoleon had read seven times.^{[1][3][4][5][6]}
• Goethe was prouder of his color theory than of his poetry, claiming he was the only person of his century who knew the truth about colors.^[1]
• Goethe owned the largest private mineral collection in Europe, with 17,800 rock samples by the time of his death.^[1]
• The human intermaxillary bone is also known as "Goethe's bone": he independently discovered it in 1784, partly by studying an elephant's skull.^[1]
• Goethe's famous last words "More light" are an abridgment: the earliest account has him asking for a second window shutter to be opened "so that more light comes in."^[1]
• In 1812 Goethe met his admirer Ludwig van Beethoven twice, in Teplice and Vienna; Beethoven had set music to Goethe's Egmont two years earlier.^[1][7][8]
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was alive at the same time as James Clerk Maxwell — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1831–1832).^{[1][2][9][10]}
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe shares a birthday with Ai Weiwei: both were born on August 28.^{[1][2][11][12]}

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, Christian views, and philosophical thought in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. A poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre-director, and critic, Goethe wrote a wide range of works, including plays, poetry and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour.^[1]

Contemporaries

James Madison

81 yr overlap

Francisco Goya

79 yr overlap

Thomas Jefferson

77 yr overlap

John Adams

77 yr overlap

Edward Jenner

74 yr overlap

Hokusai

72 yr overlap

James Watt

70 yr overlap

Andrew Jackson

65 yr overlap

John Quincy Adams

65 yr overlap

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

61 yr overlap

Joseph Haydn

60 yr overlap

Ludwig van Beethoven

57 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe born?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749, and died on March 22, 1832.

How old was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe at death?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born on August 28, 1749, and died on March 22, 1832, at age 82.

What was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe known for?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was known for: German poet and author of Faust. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on literary, political, Christian views, and philosophical thought in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. A poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre-director, and critic, Goethe wrote a wide range of works, including plays, poetry and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour.

Who was alive at the same time as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's closest contemporary was James Madison. Their lives overlapped for 81 years.