Beyond Good and Evil

About the Author

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born on October 15, 1844, in Germany, the first of three children. Friedrich's father died when he was five, his brother a year later. In 1858, he started at the internationally recognized Schulpforta, showing talents in music and language. After graduating in 1864, Friedrich began studying theology, and a year later, he lost his faith. In 1869, Nietzsche became a professor of classical philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland, then served in the Prussian army during the Franco-Prussian War. Ten years later, his eyesight began to fail and he had to use a typewriter, then a personal secretary to transcribe his work. By 1882, Friedrich was addicted to opium and chloral hydrate, living in solitude. His atheistic views were beginning to make him unpopular, costing him jobs and book sales. In 1886, he published "Beyond Good and Evil" at his own expense. Three years later, however, he suffered a mental collapse and was confined to a psychiatric clinic. The cause remains uncertain, but some suggest that it may have been a brain tumor, syphilis, dementia, or even bipolar disorder. By 1899, Nietzsche had suffered two strokes, leaving him unable to walk, or talk. In 1900, he contracted pneumonia, followed by another stroke. He died on August 25, 1900, at the age of 55, in Weimar, Germany, and is buried next to his father.