Frank Wedekind

Born Benjamin Franklin Wedekind in Hanover on July 24, 1864, he became one of the most challenging figures in German literature and theater. He spent part of his youth in Switzerland and worked in a range of jobs before making his name as a writer, performer, and cabaret artist. His work repeatedly tested the limits of what audiences of his time were willing to accept.

Wedekind is best remembered for plays such as Spring Awakening and the two Lulu dramas, Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box. Again and again, he took aim at bourgeois respectability, especially around sex, morality, and power. His fragmented scenes, sharp caricature, and anti-illusionist style helped open the way to expressionism and influenced later developments in modern theater.

He was also an actor who sometimes appeared in his own work, which added to his reputation as a vivid public presence. Wedekind died in Munich on March 9, 1918, but his plays continued to grow in importance, especially as later generations recognized how far ahead of his time he had been.