On November 10, Johann Christoph Friedrich Schiller was born in Marbach at the Neckar river. His parents were the former army physician and Wuerttemberg officer Johann Kaspar Schiller (1723 - 1796) and his wife Elisabeth Dorothea Schiller, nee Kodweiss of Marbach. The couple had married in 1749. Schiller's older sister Christophine was born on March 4, 1757. Background link to: 'Introducing Schiller's Parents'

On January 10, on the occasion of Franziska von Hohenheim's birthday, Schiller held a festive speech, 'Die Tugend in ihren Folgen betrachtet' (Virtue, seen from the vantage point of its consequences).

Duke Karl Eugen's February 11 birthday celebrations took place in his absence. On this occasion, the students, under Schiller's direction, staged Goethe's play 'Clavigo'. Schiller's over-dramatic performance was looked at by his fellow students and by himself from an ironic point of view and was met with great laughter.

During his last study year, Schiller only had to take Italian. He repeated, however, his psychology course with Professor Abel and heard lectures on Virgil and Homer.

For his practical training, Schiller often served in the sick room of the Karlsschule. He preferred to fill in at night, as light! was allowed to stay on all night in the sick room. Schiller used this to complete his play 'Robbers'.

At the beginning of November, Schiller submitted his second dissertation, 'Ueber den Zusammenhang der tierischen Natur des Menschen mit seiner geistigen' (on the inter-relationship between Man's animal nature and his intellectual nature). He also had to submit one more practical paper, 'De discrimine febrium inflammatoriarum et putridarum tractatio' (On the difference between infectious and lingering fevers).

On December 15, 1780, Schiller graduated from the Karlsschule.

His employment as regiment physician under the Stuttgart Grenadier Regiment of General Auge‚ yielded him only a salary of 18 florins monthly, since he, as well as all other graduates, did not get the opportunity to write his medical exam at the University of Tuebingen. Background link to the year '1780'

In the summer of 1780, Beethoven began his apprenticeship as a court musician under Christian Gottlob Neefe. See our Biographical Pages.

On January 16, Schiller's former fellow student Christian Weckherlin, now also a physician, suddenly died. The medical colleagues commissioned from Schiller a poem in his honor. The 'Elegie auf den den fruehzeitigen Tod Chistrian Weckherlins' (Elegy on the early death of Christian Weckherlin), and they paid for it to be printed.

At the beginning of February, Schiller and his former fellow student Joseph Kapf rented a room together from the Captain's widow Luise Dorothea Vischer. Schiller's former school friends meet there or in the nearby restaurant 'Goldener Ochse'.

At an officers' banquet in honor of the Duke, Schiller became so drunk that he had to be carried home in the Ducal sedan.

Anonymously, Schiller took over the job of editing the news magazine 'Nachrichten zum Nuzen und Vergnuegen', which was published twice a week in Stuttgart.

At the end of May or the beginning of June, his 'Robbers' was (self)- published (paid for with borrowed money) with 800 copies. The play was first reviewed on July 24, in an article in which the critic had this to say: 'If we should ever hope for that a Shakespeare will rise in Germany, he will rise in this man.' The Mannheim theater director, Baron von Dalberg, proposed that Schiller revise the play for its possible staging in Mannheim. Schiller began to revise it from mid-August on.

On October 22, the author of the 'Robbers' became known to the public.

Towards the end of this year, Schiller visited Daniel Schubart at the Hohenasperg fortress. Background link to the year '1781'

The 'Robbers' premiered on January 13 at the Mannheim Nationaltheater. Schiller went there secretly and watched the premiere in his own box.

In mid-February, Schiller self- published his 'Anthologie auf das Jahr 1782', as a contrast publication to Friedrich Staeudlin's 'Schwaebischer Musenalmanach auf das Jahr 1782'.

On March 31, the first issue appeared of the 'Wirtembergische Repertorium der Literatur' which Schiller, his former fellow student Johann Wilhelm Petersen and Professor Abel founded and published.

The 'Robbers' were staged in September in Leipzig and Hamburg, and in Frankfurt in November.

(The work ultimately premiered in Stuttgart on May 5, 1784, in the presence of Duke Karl Eugen).

From May 25 to 29, in the absence of Duke Karl Eugen, Schiller undertook a second journey to Mannheim. This journey then became known to the Duke who ordered Schiller to be incarcerated for two weeks and forbade him to have any contact whatsoever with 'foreign persons' such as the Mannheim theater people.

Towards the end of August, Schiller was called to Hohenheim to face the Duke who then and there forbade him all further writing activities under threat of incarceration, much like Schubart...

...this obviously caused Schiller to flee from his native Wuerttemberg. He took this opportunity during the September 17 to 25 festivities in honor of the later Russian Tsar Paul I and his wife Feodorowna, a niece of the Duke. On September 22, while Solitude was festively illuminated, 'Dr. Ritter' (Schiller) and his friend 'Dr. Wolf' (Schiller's friend, the musician Johann Andreas Streicher) left the capital city by the Esslingen Gate and arrived safely in Mannheim on September 24.

Dalberg had also been at the Solitude celebrations and was absent from Mannheim when Schiller and Streicher arrived there. The surprised Mannheim actors and the director Dietrich Meyer welcomed him, but could hardly believe that he was the author of the 'Robbers' when he read to them from his new play 'Fiesco' in his strong Wuerttemberg dialect.

While Schiller immediately began to correspond with Duke Karl Eugen through his former supervisor, General Auge, to ask of the Duke that he revoke his prohibition for him to write, but to no avail.

On October 31st, Schiller was struck from the register of officers of the Duke with the comment 'deserted', which made him officially a deserter.

On October 3rd, Schiller, not feeling too safe in Mannheim, left the city in the company of Streicher and went via Darmstadt, Frankfort, and Mainz to Oggersheim, where he arrived on October 13th.

From there, he negotiated with Mannheim regarding the staging of his 'Fiesco'. Dalberg had initially encouraged Schiller to take up this subject. The negotiations were unsuccessful, however. The Mannheim bookseller and theater publisher Schwan, however, published 'Fiesco'.

On November 30th, Schiller left Oggersheim and went via Worms, Frankfort, Glenhausen and Meiningen to Bauerbach, where he arrived on December 7th. He stayed there at Mme. von Wolzogen's property on her invitation. She was the mother of a former fellow student at the Karlsschule. Background link to the year '1782'

The Bonn court theater season of 1782/1783 saw the staging of Schiller's play 'Robbers'.

The play 'Fiesco' was first staged at:/p>

On January 11, the 'Fiesco' premiered in Mannheim. Schiller had made extensive revisions to it.

In mid-March, the first book edition of 'Kabale und Liebe, ein buergerliches Trauerspiel von Fridrich Schiller', was published by Schwan in Mannheim.

The play premiered in Frankfort on April 13th.

At the beginning of May, Schiller made the acquaintance of Charlotte von Kalb and her husband.

At the beginning of June, Schiller received a beautiful gift from four Leipzig admirers: four portraits, a carrying case as well as a composition of the song 'Amalia' from his 'Robbers'.

On June 26, Schiller held his acceptance speech at the German Society entitled 'Vom Wirken der Schaubuehne auf das Volk'.

Towards the end of July, Schiller's financial situation worsened. The lady who had been a guarantor in the case of his Stuttgart indebted- ness of 200 florins (who had fled to Mannheim), was arrested. His Mannheim landlord helped him out in the last minute. A further burden was his indebtedness to Mme. von Wolzogen. Johann Kaspar Schiller let his son know that he could no longer support him.

Schiller's reputation also suffered because of a comedy by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, 'Der schwarze Mann', which ironically portrayed a playwright who was fickle-minded with respect to the endings of his plays.

On August 31st, Schiller's contract with the Mannheim theater came to an end and was not renewed. He had not lived up to the stipulation to write three plays during one year.

However, Schiller stayed on in Mannheim and worked on his play 'Don Carlos'.

His passion for the married Charlotte von Kalb found expression in poems he wrote at that time, such as 'Freigeisterei der Leidenschaft' and 'Resignation'.

On December 26th, Schiller had occasion to read from the first act of his 'Don Carlos' at the Darmstadt court. Duke Karl August of Weimar was present and bestowed on Schiller, the very next day, the honorary title of a Weimar Court Councillor. Background link to the year '1784'

In January, Schiller's relationship with the Mannheim stage worsened. On January 19, he complained strongly to von Dalberg about the lax acting in the third staging of his play 'Kabale und Liebe' of the night before.

On Feburary 22nd, Schiller continued a letter to Christian Gottfried Koerner of Leipzig that he had begun to write on February 10th, and expressed his wish to leave Mannheim.

In mid-March, the first issue of Schiller's new periodical 'Rheinische Thalia' was published by Schwan in Mannheim.

At the same time, Schiller received Koerner's invitation to move to Leipzig and stay with him.

On April 9th, Schiller left Mannheim and arrived in Leipzig on April 17th. Koerner was in Dresden at that time, however.

At first, Schiller moved into a student lodging.

On April 24th, Schiller wrote a letter to his Mannheim publisher Schwan in which he asked for the hand of his daughter Margarethe.

At the beginning of May, Schiller moved into a small attic room in the village of Gohlis near Leipzig, which was a popular summer retreat of the Leipzigers, while the first reliably documented meeting with his friend Koerner only took place on July 1st. Koerner's wedding to Minna Stock took place on August 7th, and on September 11th, Schiller followed them to Dresden. There, he settled in Koerner's cottage in Loschwitz near Dresden.

In Loschwitz, he wrote his 'Ode to Joy' in October and November of that year. Background link to the year '1785'