Herder was born in Mohrungen, East Prussia, on August 25, 1744. He studied theology in Königsberg, where he was a student of Immanuel Kant. His intellectual career spanned various fields, including philosophy, theology, philology, literary criticism, and history. Herder is considered one of the precursors of German Romanticism and one of the founders of modern historical science. He traveled extensively, which broadened his understanding of diverse European cultures and languages. His works "Fragments on Recent German Literature" (Fragmente über die neuere deutsche Literatur) and "Essay on the Origin of Language" (Abhandlung über den Ursprung der Sprache) were fundamental to the development of aesthetic and linguistic thought. Herder valued individual expression and cultural diversity, significantly influencing thinkers such as Goethe and Wilhelm von Humboldt. He spent much of his life in Weimar, where he served as councilor and general superintendent. Johann Gottfried von Herder died in Weimar on December 18, 1803.