Born to Carl Ludwig Nietzsche and Franziska Oehler on 15 October 1844, Friedrich Nietzsche was brought up in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. He joined the University of Bonn to study theology and classical philology, soon after completing his graduation in 1864. Between 1870 and 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, he served as a medical orderly in the Prussian forces. His first work, The Birth of Tragedy, was a work of dramatic theory. It was published in 1872. Nietzsche’s philosophical novel called Thus Spoke Zarathustra was written between 1883 and 1885. The novel contains the dictum which appeared in The Gay Science—‘God is dead’. Though Nietzsche’s works did not sell much when they were published, Beyond Good and Evil is considered one of the greatest books. Nietzsche suffered severe mental disorder in January 1889. After subsequent deterioration in his health, he died on 25 August 1900. A great thinker, Nietzsche is remembered as one of the greatest German philosophers, and his works continue to remain powerful and influential.