Biography

The early years

Prague, the capitol of the Czech province of Bohemia, had been a German city for 14 years when Max Wertheimer was born there on April 15, 1880. Bohemia had alternated between German and Austrian rule over most of the century, and in 1866, Prussian troops had besieged Prague and won the battle that would end what was then called "The Seven Weeks War." That defeat had left Bohemia completely under Germany's control. Very little has been written of Wertheimer's early years. It is known that his father was a schoolmaster who had charge of a commercial high school in Prague, and that both of his parents wanted him to be a musician. He attended a local gymnasium, a school that prepared students for the university, and in 1898, at the age of 18, he began his studies at the University of Prague. For two and a half...