Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (/ˈniːtʃə, ˈniːtʃi/,[10][11] German: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈniːtʃə] (About this soundlisten) or [- ˈniːtsʃə];[12][13][14] 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet, and philologist whose work has exerted a profound influence on modern intellectual history.[15][16][17][18][19] He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He became the youngest ever to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in 1869 at the age of 24.[20] Nietzsche resigned in 1879 due to health problems that plagued him most of his life; he completed much of his core writing in the following decade.[21] In 1889, at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterward a complete loss of his mental faculties.[22] He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897 and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900.