August Wilhelm Iffland

Born in Hanover on April 19, 1759, August Wilhelm Iffland was originally meant for the clergy, but he chose the theater instead and left home as a teenager to study acting in Gotha. He went on to build his reputation in Mannheim, where he became closely associated with the city's celebrated National Theatre and won notice for both his performances and his plays.

Iffland was admired as an actor, dramatist, and theater leader. His work often focused on middle-class family life and moral conflicts, and his plays were widely read and performed in German-speaking Europe. He later took on an important leadership role in Berlin, where his influence on theatrical taste and performance grew even stronger.

He died in Berlin on September 22, 1814. Iffland is still remembered not only for his own writing and acting, but also because his name lives on in the Iffland-Ring, one of the best-known honors in the German-speaking theater world.