Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born on 27 August 1770 in Stuttgart, in the Duchy of Württemberg, part of the Holy Roman Empire. His father, Georg Ludwig Hegel, served as a secretary in the revenue office, while his mother, Maria Magdalena Louisa Hegel, was the daughter of a lawyer. Hegel's early education began at the German School and continued at the Eberhard-Ludwigs-Gymnasium, where he developed a strong interest in Enlightenment thinkers and classical literature. He graduated with a speech on the state of art and scholarship in Turkey.At eighteen, Hegel entered the Tübinger Stift, a Protestant seminary affiliated with the University of Tübingen, where he befriended Friedrich Hölderlin and Friedrich Schelling. The three shared a disdain for orthodox theology and were influenced by the unfolding events of the French Revolution. After receiving his theological certificate, Hegel worked as a tutor in Berne from 1793 to 1796, during which he wrote critical texts on Christianity. He later moved to Frankfurt, where he continued to develop his philosophical ideas under the influence of early Romanticism.In 1801, Hegel began his academic career in Jena, where he published his inaugural dissertation and essays critiquing contemporary philosophy. He co-founded the Kritische Journal der Philosophie with Schelling and became an extraordinary professor at the University of Jena. His financial situation worsened after the Battle of Jena in 1806, prompting him to move to Bamberg, where he edited a local newspaper and published his major work, the Phenomenology of Spirit, in 1807. This work introduced his dialectical method, emphasizing the development of self-consciousness through historical processes.In 1808, Hegel became headmaster of a gymnasium in Nuremberg, where he adapted his teachings for students. He married Marie Helena Susanna von Tucher in 1811 and published the Science of Logic in three volumes between 1812 and 1816. In 1816, he accepted a position at the University of Heidelberg, where he published the Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences in Basic Outline. Hegel returned to Berlin in 1818 to take the chair of philosophy, where he published the Elements of the Philosophy of Right in 1821 and delivered influential lectures on various philosophical topics.Hegel's later years were marked by significant intellectual activity, although he did not publish new works. He revised the Encyclopaedia and continued to lecture until his death on 14 November 1831, likely from cholera. His philosophical system, often referred to as absolute idealism, sought to unify various aspects of reality through the concept of 'spirit' (Geist), which he viewed as the culmination of human self-awareness and freedom. Hegel's ideas led to the emergence of distinct philosophical movements, including Right and Left Hegelianism, influencing figures such as Karl Marx and later developments in existentialism and critical theory.