Wilhelm Hauff

Wilhelm Hauff (1802-1827) was a German poet and novelist best known for his fairy tales. Hauff was born in Stuttgart, the son of August Friedrich Hauff, a secretary in the Württemberg ministry of foreign affairs, and Hedwig Wilhelmine Elsaesser Hauff. He was the second of four children.

Young Hauff lost his father when he was seven years old, and his early education was practically self-gained in the library of his maternal grandfather at Tübingen, where his mother had moved after the death of her husband. In 1818 he was sent to the Klosterschule at Blaubeuren, and in 1820 began to study at the University of Tübingen. In four years he completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Tübinger Stift.

Hauff died from fever when he was only 25. Despite his short life, Hauff made a significant impact on German literature.