Chronicle of Nietzsche's Life
1844
October 15: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche is born as the first of three
children to the pastor Karl Ludwig Nietzsche and his wife, Franziska,
nee Oehler, in Röcken, a small village near Lützen. "Born on the batde-
field of Lützen. The first name I ever heard was Gustav Adolf" (1858).
On hisfather:^ cThe perfect picture of a country parson! Endowed with
a good spirit and heart, adorned with all the virtues of a Christian, he led
a quiet and simple but happy life" (1858).
On his childhood in Röcken: "Various characteristics developed very
eariy in me—for example, a certain penchant for tranquillity and a taci-
turn nature, which I used to keep other children at arm's length,
although my passionate nature erupted from time to time. Sequestered
from the outside wodd, I lived in a happy family. The village and its
vicinity were my wodd; anything beyond that was a magical realm alto-
gether alien to me" (1858).
1849
July 30: Death of his father. Diagnosis: softening of the brain.
"Although I was still very young and inexperienced, I did have some idea
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