Heinrich Heine.

December 13, 1797, marked the birth of Heinrich Heine in Düsseldorf, then part of the Duchy of Berg in the Holy Roman Empire, now North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. His parents, Samson Heine and Betty Heine, were Jewish. As a young man, he was sent to Hamburg to work for a wealthy uncle. Heine pursued higher education at the universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Göttingen, earning a law degree in 1825. To ease his integration into German society, he changed his name from Harry to Heinrich.

Heine launched his literary career with the publication of his poem collection Gedichte in 1821, but a conflict with another poet damaged his reputation, prompting him to move to Paris to work as a journalist. There he met Augustine Crescence Mirat, an illiterate shopgirl, whom he married in 1841. Heine’s sharp criticism of German politics and society led to censorship in his homeland, and he remained in France for the rest of his life. His poetry was set to music by leading composers of the time, including Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann.

In Paris, Heine met Augustine Crescence Mirat, an illiterate shopgirl, and married her in 1841. The couple had no recorded children. He maintained close ties with his siblings, Charlotte Embden and Gustav Heine von Geldern. Due to his Jewish ancestry and his outspoken political views, he faced persecution and lived in exile in Paris until his death on February 17, 1856.

Heine’s influence on literature and music is enduring. His poems were set to music by composers such as Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann. Under the Nazi regime, his works were banned because of his Jewish heritage, with his poems often marked as author unknown. After his death, his reputation was revived, and he inspired later poets like Rainer Maria Rilke. He died in Paris on February 17, 1856, at the age of 58.