Life and Times of Henrik Ibsen

1849

1843

1868

1828

1857

1850

Life and Times of Henrik Ibsen

1879

1900

1906

Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20, 1828 in Skien, Norway

In 1850, Ibsen moved to Osloto study for his university examinations. While he was there, he made friends with other writers and artists. One of those friend, Ole Schulerud, helped Ibsen pay for the publication of his first play. But unfortunetly, his play "Catilina" failed to get much notice.

Around the age of 15, Ibsen stopped going to school and started to work. He worked in an apothecary in Grimstad as an aprentice for six years. Within his limited free time, he took that time to write poetry and paint. Ibsen was influenced by his mother in painting since she used to paint.

Ibsen wrote his first play "Catilina" in 1849. It is a drama written in verse modeled after one of his great influences, William Shakespeare.

In 1857, Ibsen had an encounter with a violinist and theater manager, Ole Bull. Bull offered him a job as a writer and manager for the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen. Ibsen later returned back to Oslo to run another theater. This was pretty frustrating for him since he failed once, and because of that, others had claimed that he mismanaged the theater.

1891

In 1868, Ibsen moved to Germany. While he was there, he saw his social drama "The Pillars of Society" performace in Munich for the first time.

The play in Munich helped launch his career pretty well which later in 1879 it was followed by one of his most famous works "A Doll's House."

In 1891, Ibsen returned to Norway as a true hero, a literary hero. He may have left as a frustrated artist, but then came back as internationally known playwright. He felt accomplished.

Around 1900, Ibsen had a series of strokes that left him unable to write. He managed to live for a few years, but he wasn't thoroughly well during much of this time.

Ibsen died on May23, 1906 in Oslo, Norway . His last words were "To the contrary!" in Norwegian.

1828 - 1906