Portrait of Daniel Kehlmann

Birthday profile

Daniel Kehlmann

German-language novelist (born 1975)

Born
January 13, 1975
Age in 2026
51
Zodiac sign
Capricorn
Birth year
1975

About Daniel Kehlmann

Daniel Kehlmann (German: [ˈdaːni̯eːl ˈkeːlman, -ni̯ɛl -]; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality. His novel Die Vermessung der Welt (translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway as Measuring the World, 2006) is the best-selling book in the German language since Patrick Süskind's Perfume was released in 1985. In an ironic way, it deals with Alexander von Humboldt, one of the world's best-known naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries, and Humboldt's relationship with the mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. According to The New York Times, it was the world's second-best selling novel in 2006. All Kehlmann's subsequent novels reached the number-one spot on Germany's Spiegel bestseller list and were translated into English. He collaborated with Jonathan Franzen and Paul Reitter on Franzen's 2013 book The Kraus Project. Kehlmann's play The Mentor, translated by Christopher Hampton, opened at Theatre Royal, Bath, in April 2017 starring F. Murray Abraham and transferred to the London West End in July 2017. In October 2017, his play Christmas Eve, also translated by Christopher Hampton, premiered at the Theatre Royal. His novella You Should Have Left (2016) was adapted into a movie starring Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried. Kehlmann's highly praised novel Tyll (2017), which sold more than 600,000 copies in German alone and was published in the US in February 2020, is currently being adapted into a TV series for Netflix by the makers of Dark. The novel was shortlisted for the 2020 International Booker Prize. Kehlmann's play Die Reise der Verlorenen was adapted for BBC radio by Tom Stoppard under the title The Voyage of the St. Louis. In 2026, The Director, Ross Benjamin's English translation of Kehlmann's 2023 novel Lichtspiel, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Daniel Kehlmann (German:; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.

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

Daniel Kehlmann timeline

  1. Daniel Kehlmann (German:; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.
  2. Kehlmann's play The Mentor, translated by Christopher Hampton, opened at Theatre Royal, Bath, in April 2017 starring F.

The world when Daniel Kehlmann was born

Daniel Kehlmann was born in 1975. 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 1975

  • #1 song"Love Will Keep Us Together" – Captain & Tennille
  • Top movieJaws
  • Top TV showAll in the Family
  • Best-selling bookShogun – James Clavell

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMuhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier III "Thrilla in Manila"
  • Top headlineFall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
  • Technology milestoneAltair 8800 — first personal computer kit
  • Defining fadPet Rocks — 1.5 million sold
  • Notable inventionPet Rock
  • World population4.09 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderGerald Ford
  • Sports championCincinnati Reds (World Series)
  • Also wonGolden State Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population215.9M

1975 versus 2026

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

Measure19752026
Gas$0.57$3.45/gal
Average home$28,900$435,000
Average income$14,700$67,500
Minimum wage$2.10$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$2.05$11.95
Postage stamp$0.10$0.73
Population215.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, 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.