Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher and writer who began his professional life as a classical philologist. In 1869, at the age of 24, he was appointed Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel. Following a decade of service, he resigned in 1879 due to persistent health problems. He spent the remainder of his active career as an independent writer, living in relative solitude and financial insecurity while traveling between Switzerland, Italy, and southern France in search of climates to improve his condition. During this period, he completed much of his core writing.

In 1889, at age 44, Nietzsche suffered a neurological collapse that resulted in a complete loss of his mental faculties, paralysis, and vascular dementia. He spent his final 11 years under the care of his mother and later his sister until his death. His philosophy and body of work have since inspired extensive academic scholarship and widespread popular interest.