Biography of Ludwig Anzengruber

Born in Vienna on November 29th and died on December 10th 1889. His grandfather was a farmer but his father, Johann, left the farm for Vienna where he met and married Maria the daughter of an apothecary. When Ludwig was five his father died. When he was 16 he was apprenticed to a bookseller but after a severe bout of typhoid when he was 19 he decided to become an actor. He was not a great success at acting and took up writing at first under a pseudonym - L. Gruber. Against his mother's wishes he married the sister of a childhood friend. They had three children but the marriage ended in divorce. He wrote and edited for various newspapers and journals. In 1888 he obtained a position with the German National Theatre of Vienna. He died through complications from contracting anthrax.