Short biography
(born Harry Heine)
- Born 13.12.1797 as the son of Jewish parents on Bolkerstraße 53 in Düsseldorf, rear tenement house
- From 1801, attended the children's school (a kind of preschool) on Andreasstraße
- From 1804, attended elementary school and the lyceum in the Franciscan monastery on Schulstraße and Citadellstraße
- Important poet, writer and journalist of the 19th century
- Forced into exile for his writings
- From 1831, in exile in Paris
- Died in Paris on 17.2.1856 after eight years of illness
“Born a Jew under the name Harry Heine, he was christened Heinrich Heine as a Protestant Christian, remained a free thinker, was supposed to become a merchant, was a young entrepreneur, became a law student in Bonn, Berlin and Göttingen, received his doctorate in both canon and civil law, and struggled for a civic position as a lawyer, administrative official and university lecturer, involuntarily became a freelance writer, journalist, chronicler, polemicist, satirist, travel writer and remains one of the very great and popular, beloved and hated poets of German tongue to this day.”*
* quoted from: van Eycken, Fritz and Katinka (ed.): Das poetische Werk von Heinrich Heine – Die Gedichte – Die Erzählungen – Die Memoiren [The poetic works of Heinrich Heine – the poems – the stories – the memoirs]; Berlin 2011
Note: his correct baptismal name was Christian Johann Heinrich
Hardly any other German writer and poet has seen his works so frequently translated into other languages.