David Friedrich Strauss

German-Protestant philosopher, theologian, and biographer whose use of dialectical philosophy broke new ground in biblical interpretation by explaining the New Testament accounts of Christ mythologically.

Strauss was a pioneer in the historical investigation of Jesus.

He was 27 years old when his great work Das Leben Jesu kritisch bearbeitet ("The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined") was published. It was a sensation.

In 1848 he was nominated a member of the Frankfurt Parliament, but was defeated. He was elected for the Württemberg chamber, but his actions were so conservative that his constituents requested him to resign his seat. He forgot his political disappointments in the production of a series of biographical works, which secured him a permanent place in German literature.

He was a prolific writer. All of Strauss's works were published in a collected edition in 12 volumes. He died on 8 February 1874 at age 66 in Ludwigsburg.