Johann Gottfried Herder

Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism. He was a Romantic philosopher and poet who argued that true German culture was to be discovered among the common people. He also stated that it was through folk songs, folk poetry, and folk dances that the true spirit of the nation was popularized. He is credited with establishing or advancing a number of important disciplines: hermeneutics, linguistics, anthropology, and "a secular philosophy of history."

25 August 1744

Born on the same birth day (25 August): Blair Underwood • Charles Fambrough • China Anne McClain • Crispin Tickell • Eric Millegan • John Leverett the Younger • Miro Cerar • Rachael Ray • Rachel Bilson • Stefan Wolpe • Takeshi Ueda

Born in the same month (August 1744): Alexandrine Le Normant d'Étiolles • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck • Pierre Méchain