Friedrich Maximilian von Klinger was a German dramatist and author. His drama Sturm und Drang (1776) gave rise to the Sturm & Drang artistic movement. He was a childhood companion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and is frequently associated with Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz. Klinger spent two years as a dramatist for the Seylersche Schauspiel-Gesellschaft before leaving the Kingdom of Prussia to serve as a General in the Imperial Russian Army. Klinger, one of the few lower-class authors of the eighteenth century, was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1778, he joined the Austrian army and served in the War of the Bavarian Succession. In 1780, he moved to Saint Petersburg, became an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, and was ennobled and assigned to Grand Duke Paul, whom he accompanied on a trip to Italy and France. In 1785, he was appointed director of the corps of cadets, and in 1799, after marrying Elizaveta Alekseyeva (rumored to be Catherine the Great's natural daughter with Prince Grigory Orlov), he was named praeses of the Academy of Knights. Emperor Alexander nominated Klinger as curator of the Universit�t Dorpat in 1803, which he held until 1817. In 1811, he was appointed lieutenant general.
