Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832)
Related: German literature - 1700s - romanticism
Biography
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (August 28, 1749 – March 22, 1832) was a German novelist, dramatist, humanist, scientist, philosopher, and he conducted his civic services as a cabinet minister of Weimar. Considered a brilliant writer, Goethe was one of the paramount figures of German literature and European Neo-classicism and Romanticism in the late 18th and early 19th century. Goethe was the author of Faust and Theory of Colours and inspired Darwin with his independent discovery of the human premaxilla jaw bones and focus on evolution. His influence spread across Europe, and for the next century his works were a primary source of inspiration in music, drama and poetry. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe [Sept 2005]