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Who was August von Goethe?
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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, engraving by James Posselwhite, 19th century.
August von Goethe (1789–1830) was the son of the renowned German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and his long-term partner, Christiane Vulpius.
He was born on December 25, 1789, in Weimar. Because his father initially refused to undergo a church ceremony—which was the only way to be legally married at the time—August was born out of wedlock, and his mother’s status in Weimar society was often marginalized. His parents did not formally marry until October 1806, following the sacking of Weimar by the Napoleonic army.12