Sigismand Schlomo Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg in Mahren, Moravia, which was then part of the Austrian Empire, but today is part of the Czech Republic, the oldest of eight children.
The Jewish family struggled in those days, and left for Vienna. In 1865, Sigmund entered a prominent high school and became an outstanding student with a love of literature. At the age of 17, he attended the University of Vienna to study law, but ended up graduating as an MD.
In 1882, he began a medical career in a psychiatric clinic and went into private practice in 1886, specializing in nervous disorders. He married Martha Bernays the same year, and they had six children.
It was at this time that Freud became an advocate for the use of cocaine as an antidepressant, anesthetic and cure for morphine addiction. He also became a pioneer in many areas of psychology.
By 1896, Freud had created the term "psychoanalysis" and a new clinical method and began lecturing to small audiences every Saturday night at the University.
A heavy smoker, in 1923, he developed cancer of the mouth and almost died from loss of blood during a botched operation. In 1938, the family was forced to escape from the Nazi occupation on the Orient Express, eventually settling in London. Four of his sisters however, dies in concentration camps.
By 1939, the cancer had spread to his jaw and was inoperable. He turned to a friend and fellow doctor, who administered a fatal dose of morphine. Freud died on September 23, 1939, at the age of 83, in London, England. He was cremated and his ashes were placed in an ancient Greek urn at the Golders Green Crematorium.