Who Is Viktor Frankl? Age, Biography and Wiki
Viktor Emil Frankl was born on March 26, 1905. Sadly, he passed away on September 2, 1997, which means he would have turned 120 years old in 2025. His remarkable journey through the horrors of the Holocaust and his profound insights into finding meaning in suffering are chronicled in his best-known work, Man's Search for Meaning. He founded logotherapy, a form of existential analysis, emphasizing the importance of finding purpose in life.
Occupation | Psychiatrists |
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Date of Birth | March 26, 1905 |
Age | 92 Years |
Birth Place | Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
Horoscope | Aries |
Country | Austria |
Date of death | 2 September, 1997 |
Died Place | Vienna, Austria |
Popularity
Viktor Frankl's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specifics about Viktor Frankl's height and weight are not commonly documented, he was known for his characteristic presence and engaging manner. His impact was felt through not just his physical appearance, but rather through his intellect and insight into the human condition.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Viktor Frankl was married three times. His first wife, Tilly, was a fellow Holocaust survivor, but she tragically died in the concentration camps. Later, he was married to Eleonore Schwindt and then to his third wife, who remained by his side until his passing. While details about romantic relationships continue to be a matter of historical interest, Frankl's focus remained strongly on the human experience and connection rather than on personal dating life.
In 1924, Frankl's first scientific paper was published in the Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse. In the same year, he was president of the Sozialistische Mittelschüler Österreich, the Social Democratic Party of Austria's youth movement for high school students.
Frankl's father was a socialist who named him after Viktor Adler, the founder of the party. During this time, Frankl began questioning the Freudian approach to psychoanalysis.
He joined Alfred Adler's circle of students and published his second academic paper, "Psychotherapy and Worldview" ("Psychotherapie und Weltanschauung"), in Adler's International Journal of Individual Psychology in 1925. Frankl was expelled from Adler's circle when he insisted that meaning was the central motivational force in human beings.
From 1926, he began refining his theory, which he termed logotherapy.
Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, it is difficult to ascertain Viktor Frankl's exact net worth given that he passed away in 1997. However, his work as an author, speaker, and psychiatrist led to significant earnings during his lifetime. His publications and teachings continue to influence modern psychology and are still taught in various educational institutions.
Career, Business and Investments
Viktor Frankl's career was marked by his resilience and dedication to understanding human psychology, particularly in the context of suffering and trauma. After surviving the Holocaust, he returned to Vienna and established himself as a prominent psychiatrist. Frankl's major contributions to psychology include the development of logotherapy, which asserts that finding meaning in life is essential for psychological health. He also taught at universities and wrote numerous influential books, maintaining an academic career that spanned several decades. His teachings remain relevant today, making him a sought-after figure in both educational and health-related arenas.
Throughout his career, Frankl argued that the reductionist tendencies of early psychotherapeutic approaches dehumanised the patient, and advocated for a rehumanisation of psychotherapy.
Social Network
Though Viktor Frankl did not live in the age of social media, his ideas have been widely disseminated through various platforms. Today, his legacy continues on social networks where quotes, insights, and discussions about his work are frequently shared. Organizations dedicated to mental health, philosophy, and spirituality often reference his teachings and encourage discussions surrounding his contributions to psychology.
In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl states:"Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness.
In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness.
That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast."Frankl's concept for the statue grew in popularity, and drew the affection of Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Covey teamed up with Kevin Hall to push the idea of the statue forward in the 1990s, and eventually commissioned the sculptor Gary Lee Price who came up with the concept of two hands clasped together. The design was approved by Frankl's widow, and they began looking for a location to construct it.
Their first choice was California, to have it in a Pacific Ocean harbour to complement the Statue of Liberty's position in the Atlantic harbour of New York. However, the state regulations proved difficult to navigate, and the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, suggested a location in his state for the project, which was approved in 2023.
Construction has not yet started.
Education
Viktor Frankl's education was extensive; he studied medicine at the University of Vienna, completing his degree in 1930 with a specialization in neurology and psychiatry. His interest in psychology was further shaped by his studies in philosophy, leading to a rich understanding of the human psyche and existential thought. Frankl's academic accomplishments laid the groundwork for his pioneering ideas and methodologies in logotherapy, which have influenced countless individuals seeking purpose and meaning.
Viktor Emil Frankl (26 March 1905 – 2 September 1997) was an Austrian neurologist, psychologist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor, who founded logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's meaning as the central human motivational force. Logotherapy is part of existential and humanistic psychology theories.