Born: 4 December 1875 · Died: 29 December 1926 · Age at death: 51
How old was Rainer Maria Rilke when he died?
Rainer Maria Rilke died aged 51. He was born on 4 December 1875 and died on 29 December 1926.
Bohemian-Austrian poet of the Duino Elegies, the Sonnets to Orpheus and Letters to a Young Poet
Did you know?He spent several years living in Paris, where he worked as a personal secretary to the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin.
Quick facts
Date of birth4 December 1875
Date of death29 December 1926
Age at death51
Cause of deathLeukemia
NationalityAustrian
BirthplacePrague, Czech Republic
Occupationwriter, poet, playwright
Editor's Take:
Rainer Maria Rilke wrote some of the most beautiful poems in the German language. Born in Prague, he spent much of his life travelling across Europe. In Paris he worked as secretary to the sculptor Auguste Rodin, who taught him to look closely. His New Poems capture objects and animals with startling precision. The Duino Elegies wrestle with love, death and what it means to be human. His Letters to a Young Poet still guide new writers. He died of leukaemia at 51.
Key Milestones
1905: Book of Hours – poems
1905: Rodin – secretary
1907: New Poems – collection
1922: Duino Elegies – completed
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet. Acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as a significant writer in the German language.
