Poet and playwright (born März 1872 in Kiel; died 2 January 1930 in London), son of a wealthy German-Jewish family. His father, a successful merchant marine, had hoped to make him an accountant but when that didn't work out, he sent Max to England to study engineering. However, after a year, he gave up engineering and returned to his parents' home in Germany. He worked for several years in his father's firm before going solo in 1897. His first success came with the collection of poems entitled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's Magic Horn). This book made him famous all over Europe. In 1902, he published another collection of poems titled Der Dichter und der Krieg (The Poet and War). In it, he fiercely attacked the war fever then raging throughout Europe. The book sold more than a million copies and is still read today. In 1905, he married Sophie von Laube, a wealthy young widow with two children. She helped support the family by writing short stories under the pen name Edith Maxwell. The couple had one son together but they were divorced in 1916.