German philosopher. Born at Stuttgart, Hegel studied at Tübingen, where his contemporaries included Schelling and the poet Hölderlin. After holding positions as a tutor he went to Jena in 1801 as a Privatdozent in philosophy. While in Jena he collaborated with Schelling in editing the Kritisches Journal der Philosophie, to which he contributed many articles. Promoted to a chair in 1805, he then was forced to leave Jena because of the Napoleonic war, became editor of a newspaper, and from 1807 spent eight years as director of the Gymnasium in Nürnberg. In 1816 he became professor of philosophy at Heidelberg. Two years later he succeeded Fichte as a professor in Berlin and entered into his most famous and influential period. Hegel attracted great numbers of foreign students to Berlin, and had an unparalleled influence on German philosophy in the 19th century. He was also the central philosophical influence on Marx and Engels, and on English philosophy in the absolute idealist phrase, and although his reputation in the Anglo-American world has suffered periods of eclipse, he continues to be a focal point for many thinkers.

A voluminous literature on Hegel and Hegelian thought exists in English, including biographical studies, translations, and commentaries on his writings.