Franz Kafka

Born to Hermann Kafka and Julie Löwy in the Old Town quarter of Prague, then part of Austria-Hungary. The family spoke German at home.

First of three sisters; two younger brothers (Georg, 1885–1886; Heinrich, 1887–1888) had already died in infancy before Elli's birth.

Second sister. Kafka would remain closest to his youngest sister Ottla.

Youngest sibling and Kafka's most trusted confidante; she would later house him during his tuberculosis sick leave in Zürau.

Entered the German-language grammar school in Prague's Old Town — the Deutsche Staatsgymnasium. Remained until his Matura in 1901.

Passed the Matura examination and entered the German Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague, briefly studying chemistry before switching to law.

Met fellow student Max Brod at a philosophy lecture; the friendship would prove decisive — Brod later preserved all of Kafka's manuscripts against his explicit instructions.

Received the degree of Doctor of Law (JUDr.) from Karl-Ferdinand University after completing his legal studies and examinations.

Completed the mandatory unpaid practical legal training (Rechtspraktikant) at the Prague Regional and Criminal Courts.

Began work at the Italian insurance company; found the hours oppressive and the position ill-suited to his writing ambitions.

Took a position at the Workers' Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia — a single-shift job that left evenings free for writing.

Eight prose pieces published in the Munich literary journal Hyperion — Kafka's first appearance in print.

A Galician Yiddish theater company performed in Prague; Kafka attended repeatedly and became deeply engaged with Yiddish language and Eastern European Jewish culture.

Introduced to Felice Bauer, a Berlin office manager, at Max Brod's parents' apartment; within days he began a years-long correspondence with her.

Wrote the story Das Urteil in one uninterrupted overnight session, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Kafka regarded this night as his literary breakthrough.

Composed Die Verwandlung in the weeks following "The Judgment." Published in 1915 by Kurt Wolff Verlag, Leipzig.

First book — a collection of 18 short prose pieces — published by Rowohlt Verlag, Leipzig. The print run was small and largely unnoticed.

Engagement formally announced in Berlin after two years of correspondence; Kafka almost immediately felt it to be a mistake.

Felice, her sister, and a friend confronted Kafka at the Askanischer Hof hotel in Berlin and ended the engagement. Kafka privately called it "the tribunal."

Started Der Proceß within weeks of the broken engagement. Left unfinished; published posthumously by Max Brod in 1925.

Wrote In der Strafkolonie in two weeks; published as a standalone volume in 1919.

Die Verwandlung appeared in Die Weißen Blätter and then as a book (Kurt Wolff Verlag). Kafka received the Fontane Prize and redirected it to Carl Sternheim.

Re-engaged to Felice Bauer in July; the engagement lasted only until December.

Suffered a pulmonary hemorrhage in the night of 9–10 August; tuberculosis diagnosed shortly after. Kafka took extended sick leave and moved to sister Ottla's farm in Zürau.

Felice Bauer ended the engagement for good; Kafka later attributed the breakdown to his sense that writing and marriage were irreconcilable.

Ein Landarzt, a collection of 14 stories, published by Kurt Wolff Verlag; dedicated to his father. In der Strafkolonie published as a standalone the same year.

Wrote a 45-page letter to Hermann Kafka in Schelesen (Želízy), entrusted to his mother to deliver. She never passed it on. Published posthumously as Brief an den Vater.

Intense correspondence and occasional meetings with Czech journalist and translator Milena Jesenská, who was translating his work. The relationship ended by late 1920.

Started Das Schloß in January; left unfinished in August. Published posthumously by Max Brod in 1926.

Granted early retirement on a disability pension from the Workers' Accident Insurance Institute due to advancing tuberculosis; had worked there for 14 years.

Met Dora Diamant, a young woman from an Eastern European Hasidic family, at the Baltic Sea resort of Müritz where he was vacationing with his sister Elli's family.

Relocated to Berlin to live with Dora Diamant, first in Steglitz, then Zehlendorf. His last months of relative happiness, despite poverty, inflation, and worsening health.

Tuberculosis had spread to his larynx, making swallowing increasingly painful. Returned to Prague as his condition made independent living in Berlin impossible.

Transferred to Dr. Hoffmann's sanatorium in Kierling, near Klosterneuburg, Austria. Dora Diamant remained with him until his death.

Corrected page proofs of Ein Hungerkünstler from his sanatorium bed — his final literary act. The collection appeared in print shortly after his death.

Died of laryngeal tuberculosis; lesions in his throat had made eating impossible in his final weeks. Buried at the New Jewish Cemetery in Prague-Žižkov.

Four stories (Ein Hungerkünstler) published by Die Schmiede, Berlin — the last book to appear in Kafka's name, issued days after his death.

Brod edited and published Der Proceß (Verlag Die Schmiede), defying Kafka's written instruction to destroy all unpublished manuscripts unread.

Das Schloß published by Kurt Wolff Verlag, Munich. Brod assembled it from the unfinished manuscript, ordering the chapters as he judged fit.

Published as Amerika (later known by its manuscript title Der Verschollene) — Kafka's first novel, begun in 1911, likewise left unfinished and published against his instructions.