Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Born: 28 August 1749  Frankfurt-am-Main, Holy Roman Empire (not to be mistaken for Roman Empire)

Died: 22 March 1832   Weimar, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, German Confederation

Biography: Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer and statesman. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of metres and styles; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him are extant.