Rudolph Steiner was born in February 1861 in Murakiraly, Austria-Hungary (present-day Croatia) to Johann and Franziska (nee Blie) Steiner. Steiner is recognized as a philosopher, educator, and esotericist, and is known for founding anthroposophy, a philosophical and spiritual movement with ties to transcendentalism and Theosophy. He graduated from the Vienna Institute of Technology in 1883 and received a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Rostock in 1891. Steiner worked at the Goethe archives in Weimar from 1888 to 1896, and became chief editor of Magazin fur Literatur in 1897. He married Anna Eunicke in 1899; they later separated and he married his second wife, Marie von Sievers, in 1914.

After leading the Theosophical Esoteric Society for Germany and Austria for several years, Steiner and his followers split from the group to form the Anthroposophical Society in 1913. Steiner’s teachings on anthroposophy emphasize ethical individualism and the existence of an experiential spiritual world. The Anthroposophical Society supports those interested in synthesizing Western philosophy and science with mysticism through ‘spiritual science.’ Its headquarters are located in the Goetheanum cultural center in Dornach, Switzerland.

Steiner’s wide-ranging interests and ideas have impacted several fields: he developed biodynamic agriculture, which shares commonalities with organic farming; Eurythmy, a performance art; and anthroposophic medicine, while his educational philosophy formed the basis for Waldorf education. Steiner was a prolific writer and lecturer; his collected works include approximately 300 volumes of lectures. Steiner died March 30, 1925, in Dornach, Switzerland.