Literature · Music · Film · 1875–1955

Thomas Mann — Age & Birthday

Born: 6 June 1875 · Died: 12 August 1955 · Age at death: 80

How old was Thomas Mann when he died?

Thomas Mann died aged 80. He was born on 6 June 1875 and died on 12 August 1955.

German novelist of Buddenbrooks, The Magic Mountain and Death in Venice who won the Nobel Prize in Literature

Did you know?He fled Germany for Switzerland and later the United States after his work was banned by the Nazis.

Editor's Take:

Thomas Mann wrote long, rich novels that explore how individuals and families are shaped by the forces of their time. Buddenbrooks, written in his twenties, traced the decline of a merchant family much like his own. The Magic Mountain used a Swiss sanatorium as a stage for debates about life, death and European civilisation before the First World War. Once a conservative nationalist, he became a powerful voice against Nazism, broadcasting speeches to Germany from exile. He is seen as one of the great storytellers of modern European literature.

Key Milestones

  1. 1901: Buddenbrooks – his first novel
  2. 1924: The Magic Mountain – major novel of ideas
  3. 1929: Nobel Prize in Literature
  4. 1933: Leaves Germany – goes into exile

Paul Thomas Mann (6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Profile

Thomas Mann: The Chronicler of Modern Germany

Nobel Prize-winning German novelist, born in Lübeck on 6 June 1875

Thomas Mann was born on 6 June 1875 in Lübeck into a wealthy merchant family. After his father's death, the family moved to Munich, where he began writing.

His first novel, Buddenbrooks (1901), was an immediate success. Death in Venice (1912) and The Magic Mountain (1924) confirmed his reputation, and in 1929 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

He left Germany after the Nazis came to power, living in Switzerland and then the United States. During the Second World War, he recorded anti-Nazi radio talks for the BBC, broadcast to German listeners.

Career highlights

  1. 1875Born in Lübeck: into a merchant family
  2. 1901Buddenbrooks: his first novel
  3. 1912Death in Venice: celebrated novella
  4. 1924The Magic Mountain: major novel of ideas
  5. 1929Nobel Prize in Literature
  6. 1933Leaves Germany: goes into exile
  7. 1940Wartime broadcasts: speeches to Germany via the BBC
  8. 1947Doctor Faustus: novel reflecting on Germany's catastrophe
  9. 1955Dies in Zurich: aged 80

Did you know?His brother Heinrich and several of his children, including Klaus and Erika, were also well-known writers.

Age at death
80
Years since death
71

Questions people ask

Frequently asked questions

When is Thomas Mann's birthday?
Thomas Mann's birthday is June 6. He was born on June 6, 1875 in Lübeck, Germany.
How old was Thomas Mann when he died?
Thomas Mann died on August 12, 1955, aged 80.
Who shares a birthday with Thomas Mann?
Famous people who share Thomas Mann's June 6 birthday include Alexander Pushkin, Diego Velázquez, Sukarno, Pierre Corneille and Karl Ferdinand Braun.

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Reviewed by the Who Shares My Birthday editorial team.

Last reviewed: October 2026