Georg Simmel, 4 the youngest of seven children, was born in Berlin on March i, 1858. His father, a partner in a well-known chocolate factory, died when Georg was a boy. A friend of the family, the founder of an international music publishing house, was appointed his guardian. He left Simmel a considerable fortune which enabled him to lead the life of a scholar. Simmers mother was temperamental and domineering.

Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simm…, loc. 138