Paul Thomas Mann was born on 6 June 1875 in Lübeck, Germany, into a prominent hanseatic family. He was the second son of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann, a senator and grain merchant, and Júlia da Silva Bruhns, a Brazilian of mixed German, Portuguese, and Native Brazilian descent. Mann was baptized Lutheran, although his mother was Roman Catholic. Following his father's death in 1891, the family relocated to Munich. Mann initially studied science at a Lübeck Gymnasium and later attended Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, focusing on history, economics, art history, and literature in preparation for a career in journalism.Mann's literary career began in Munich, where he wrote for the magazine Simplicissimus. His first short story, 'Little Mr Friedemann,' was published in 1898. In 1905, he married Katia Pringsheim, from a wealthy secular Jewish family, and they had six children. The family acquired a summer property in Bad Tölz in 1908 and a villa in Munich in 1914, where they lived until 1933.In 1912, Mann's visit to his wife in a Swiss sanatorium inspired his 1924 novel 'The Magic Mountain.' His early support for the German war effort during World War I shifted as he became increasingly critical of the political climate. The financial aftermath of the war, including hyperinflation, affected his family, but the success of 'The Magic Mountain' and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929 improved his situation. Mann used his prize money to build a cottage in Nida, Lithuania, where he worked on 'Joseph and His Brothers' during the early 1930s.With the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland, later moving to the United States in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II. He settled in Princeton, New Jersey, and became a prominent figure in the German expatriate community in Los Angeles. Mann was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1944. During the war, he delivered anti-Nazi broadcasts via the BBC, condemning the regime and advocating for German accountability.Mann's political views evolved over time. Initially a supporter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, he later embraced democratic principles and criticized Nazism. His works often reflected his political engagement, including essays and speeches that denounced totalitarianism. Mann's literary output included significant novels such as 'Buddenbrooks,' 'The Magic Mountain,' 'Doctor Faustus,' and 'Confessions of Felix Krull,' which explored themes of decline, culture, and the human condition.In his later years, Mann faced challenges during the Cold War, including scrutiny from the House Un-American Activities Committee due to his perceived leftist affiliations. He returned to Switzerland in 1952, where he lived until his death on 12 August 1955. Mann's legacy includes a profound influence on literature and culture, with many institutions named in his honor.