David Friedrich Strauss was born on 27 January 1808 in Ludwigsburg, Germany, into a Lutheran family. His father Johann Friedrich was a shopkeeper, his mother Christiane a simple, pious woman, who knew her Bible well. He had one brother. Young David Friedrich won a scholarship to a boarding school (1821-5), a kind of junior theological seminary which prepared prospective candidates for university and ultimately for the ministry. In 1825 Strauss won a five year scholarship to Tübingen University, where he studied ancient languages, philosophy and (Protestant) theology. Influenced by Ferdinand Christian Bauer, then professor of New Testament theology at Tübingen, whom Strauss already knew from his school days, Strauss began to stu

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First published 07 July 2001

Citation: Spies, Marion. "David Friedrich Strauss". The Literary Encyclopedia. 7 July 2001.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4259, accessed 9 February 2010.]