Franz Grillparzer

Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (January 15, 1791 - January 21, 1872), Austrian dramatic poet, was born in Vienna.

Early Life

His father, severe, pedantic, a staunch upholder of the liberal traditions of the reign of Joseph II, was an advocate of some standing; his mother, a nervous, finely-strung woman, belonged to the well-known musical family of Sonnleithner. After a desultory education, Grillparzer entered in 1807 the University of Vienna as a student of jurisprudence; but two years later his father died, leaving the family in straitened circumstances, and Franz, the eldest son, was obliged to turn to private tutoring. In 1813 he received an appointment in the court library, but as this was unpaid, he accepted after some months a clerkship that offered more solid prospects, in the Lower Austrian revenue administration. Through the influence of Count Stadion, the minister of finance, he was in 1818 appointed poet to the Hofburgtheater, and promoted to the Hofkammer (exchequer); in 1832 he became director of the archives of that department, and in 1856 retired, from the civil service with the title of Hofrat. Grillparzer had little capacity for an official career and regarded his office merely as a means of independence.

Related Topics:
Joseph II - Advocate - 1807 - University of Vienna - Jurisprudence - 1813 - Lower Austria - Stadion - 1818

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