Karl Jaspers  was born on February 23, 1883 in Oldenburg, Germany.  Jaspers was a philosopher, often called an Existentialist.  As a young man Jaspers studied medicine and earned the MD.  He then engaged in a research position in psychiatry, a field in which he quickly developed a reputation.  He wrote "Allgemeine Psychopathologie".  In 1913 he became a member of the faculty of the department of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg.  (Psychology at that time was still regarded as a part of philosophy.)  In 1919 he published "Psychologie der Weltanschauungen",  a book which began to make his transition to the role of a philosopher.  In 1931 he wrote "Die geistige Situation der Zeit"  and in 1932 a three volume "Philosophie".    Hitler came to power in 1933 and Jaspers' wife was a Jew, which made him also suspect as anti-Semitism grew.  In time he was removed from his professorship and banned from publishing.  He was to be arrested by the Gestapo on April 14, 1945 but Heidelberg was occupied by the Americans on March 30th.  He returned to his professorship after the war.  In 1946 he wrote "Die Idee der Universität"  and "Die Schuldfrage".  In 1948 he accepted an appointment at the University of Basel, Switzerland.  He wrote "Der philosophische Glaube " in 1948, "Der philosophische Glaube angesichts der Offenbarung " in 1962, "Die Atombombe und die Zunkunft des Menschen"  in 1958 and "Wohin treibt die Bundesrepublik"  in 1966.  Jaspers died on February 26, 1969 in Basel, Switzerland. 

Man liest schnell.  Man will Kürze, doch nicht die, welche Gegenstand erinnernder Meditation werden kann, sondern die, welche schnell vermittelt, was man wissen will und sogleich wieder vergessen darf.