Sigmund Freud, born in 1856, was an Austrian psychiatrist and psychologist, the founder of psychoanalysis, and is regarded as the father of psychoanalysis. He is considered one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. Freud believed that most repressed desires were sexual in nature and that sexual disturbances were the root cause of mental illness.

Early Life:

Sigmund Freud, originally named Sigismund Freud, was born on May 6, 1856, into a Jewish family in the town of Freiberg, Moravia, in the Austrian Empire.

His father, Jakob Freud, was a kind and honest wool merchant, and his mother, Amalia Nathansohn, was his father’s third wife, known for her beauty but also her volatile temper. The year Sigmund was born, he already had two half-brothers from his father’s previous marriages. In 1858, his sister Anna was born, and in 1859, the family moved to Leipzig, Germany. A year later, they relocated to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire. Over the next six years, his mother gave birth to four more daughters.

In 1865, at the age of nine, Freud enrolled in the renowned Leopoldstadt Gymnasium. During this period, Freud studied a vast array of classical literature from ancient Greece and Rome and learned Latin, Greek, French, and English; he also self-taught Spanish and Italian. Influenced by a friend in high school, Freud aspired to become a lawyer.

In 1873, Freud turned to medicine. During this period, he was influenced by Darwin's ideas of evolution. He also read Feuerbach carefully and listened to Brentano's lectures. From his third year at university, he began to study physiology in the physiology laboratory of Ernst Bruck.

In 1879, Freud was conscripted for a year of medical service by the military. He graduated with a doctorate in medicine in 1881.

Research on Hypnosis:

In early 1885, Freud went to Paris on a study abroad opportunity, where he studied at the Salpêtrière Hospital under the great psychiatrist Jean-Martin Charcot. Charcot's research on hysteria, hypnosis, and the sexual causes of mental disorders deeply interested Freud and proved to be very fruitful.

After returning to Austria in 1886, Freud began his medical practice, initially treating a variety of conditions but gradually focusing on neurotic disorders, particularly hysteria.

In the summer of 1889, Freud traveled to Nancy, France, to study with Hippolyte Bernheim. He even convinced a female patient to accompany him to Nancy for hypnosis treatment. During the treatment of this patient, Freud and the French physician Ambroise-Auguste Liébeault concluded that the effects of hypnosis were limited and that not all patients could be hypnotized. Consequently, Freud abandoned hypnosis in favor of free association.

Great Discoveries:

In 1897, a year after his father's death, Freud began his self-analysis, primarily using dream analysis. After two years of self-analysis, he concluded that psychological disorders were caused by accumulated sexual tension. He documented his findings in the book "The Interpretation of Dreams," published in 1899. This book was later hailed by many as Freud's greatest work, although it also faced significant criticism.

End of Life:

In the spring of 1923, Freud was diagnosed with oral cancer, likely related to his habit of smoking cigars daily. Despite the diagnosis, he did not change this habit. From 1923 to 1939, he underwent numerous surgeries. Although he suffered greatly, he refused to use painkillers.

By his 75th birthday in 1931, Freud's home was filled with flowers, and he was renowned worldwide.

On his 80th birthday in 1936, Freud received congratulatory letters and telegrams from all over the world for six consecutive weeks. At this time, Freud was in the late stages of cancer, elderly, frail, and heavily burdened.

Sigmund Freud passed away in London on September 23, 1939. He left behind a wealth of psychoanalytic works that continue to be reprinted, translated into many languages, and disseminated worldwide.