Richard von Krafft-Ebing was born in 1840 in Manheim, Germany, then known as the Territory of Baden, to Friedrich von Krafft-Ebing Ebing and Clara Antonia Mittermaier. His father's position in society was that of nobility, holding the senior rank of Oberamtmann, comparable to the British designation Baron; thus adding the title Freiherr to his full name of Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing. His mother Clara, a socialite and daughter of a prominent German lawyer, gave birth to him less than a year after his marriage, around the age of nineteen. Over the next fourteen years, she gave birth to three more children, the youngest and second most famous being Hans Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing. She died the following year, at or before the age of thirty-five. Around this time, at age fourteen, Krafft-Ebing was sent to live with his maternal grandfather, Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier, allegedly the spark that ignited young Krafft-Ebing's interest in the intersection of medicine and of law, nicknamed “legal medicine”. As a child, Krafft-Ebing showed himself to be very gifted at the piano, and many anecdotes from his future colleagues relate that he played for the patients he served in various asylums, sometimes improvising a humorous song on the spot. This approach, unrelated to his professional duties, is a faithful example of his conviction that new and community activities contribute to the well-being of the patient, mentioned later in this text. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayKrafft-Ebing began his studies at the University of Heidelberg, entering a medical and academic environment completely unimaginable for modern students in medicine or psychology; surgical operations were performed in open rooms and often frequented by journalists and non-students, psychiatry was barely recognized as a science and was therefore not required for a medical degree, "crazy" and "perversion" were legitimate medical terms, and "methods" such as hypnotism and craniometry were in fact seriously considered. It was here, in this prudish but curious Victorian setting, still capable of giving nightmares to anyone who opened a Psychology 101 text, that Krafft-Ebing cultivated theories and friendships that would last the rest of his life. Above all, it is worth noting the relationship established between him and Heinrich Schüle, a comrade from Heidelberg, lifelong friend and future author of Krafft-Ebing's obituary. Following his life's path, it soon becomes clear that Krafft-Ebing intended to pursue an academic career. as well as a clinical position from the start. In 1800s Germany, the process of beginning medical practice differed significantly from current procedures; a student can complete their medical courses and immediately begin practicing after obtaining a license from a government agency. However, if a doctorate is desired, the interested student must take an additional written and oral exam, write a thesis, and spend a significant amount of money. These extra steps are a requiem for modern PhD seekers and do not seem strange or cumbersome; but in the Victorian context, a doctorate did not offer privileges even remotely comparable to those of today. It was simply an academic title, so most students at the time did not care for the effort; Krafft-Ebing did so, returning to Heidelberg to graduate in late 1863 after leaving Zurich, where he spent..