Portrait of Franz Brentano

Birthday profile

Franz Brentano

German philosopher and psychologist as well as refounder of the theory of intentionality (1838–1917)

Born
January 16, 1838
Died
March 17, 1917
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1838

About Franz Brentano

Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano (; German: [bʁɛnˈtaːno]; 16 January 1838 – 17 March 1917) was a German philosopher and psychologist. His 1874 Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, considered his magnum opus, is credited with having reintroduced the medieval scholastic concept of intentionality into contemporary philosophy. Originally a Catholic priest, Brentano withdrew from the priesthood in 1873 due to the dogmatic definition of papal infallibility in Pastor aeternus. Working subsequently as a non-denominational professor, his teaching triggered research in a wide array of fields such as linguistics, logic, mathematics and experimental psychology through the young generation of philosophers who were gathered as the School of Brentano.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Franz Brentano timeline

  1. Born: January 16, 1838
  2. Died: March 17, 1917

The world when Franz Brentano was born

Franz Brentano was born in 1838. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1838

  • Best-selling bookOliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineTrail of Tears — forced removal of Cherokee
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic steamship crossing (SS Great Western)
  • World population~1.18B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderMartin Van Buren
  • U.S. population16.3M

1838 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Franz Brentano's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18382026
Population16.3M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.