The death of Friedrich Schiller

The famous playwright and philosopher dies in Weimar

Schiller had a bad time after fleeing his hometown of Württemberg in 1782, having been banned from working there as a writer. Fearing continued persecution, he went underground for six months. After emerging from hiding, he was pleased to receive a number of honours, including honorary citizenship of France, but found himself penniless. As he could not make a living from writing, Schiller was dependent on the support of friends and patrons. Indeed, he only narrowly avoided imprisonment for debt. Needing a job, Schiller sought a university position and was appointed as a professor in Jena. Even this employment came without a salary, and he first gained a paid position in 1790. Finally enjoying a vestige of financial security, Schiller was able to marry and buy a modest summerhouse. He made it in the end: ennobled in 1802, he also had sufficient funds to buy a nice house in Weimar.

Despite his eventual success, Schiller suffered poor health. Having developed “nervous fever” – probably malaria – in his mid-20s, he was afflicted by attacks of coughing and fainting fits in his early 30s, which probably indicated tuberculosis. Rumours spread of his death, which actually occurred on 9 May 1805. The post mortem revealed that one of his lungs had been completely destroyed, his kidneys had almost dissolved and his heart muscle had wasted away. Schiller was only 45 years old.