Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in the city of Freiberg in Moravia (now Pribor, Czech Republic). His family was Jewish and he had three sisters and two brothers. His father Jakob Löwinger was a wool merchant who died in 1859 from a lung disease. His mother Amalia Nathansohn was an orthodox Frankist Jewess who married her second husband Jakob Freud when Sigmund was 8 years old. She died in 1891 at the age of 71 years.
In his early life Sigmund had many health problems including severe nosebleeds and headaches. In later life he suffered from insomnia, constipation, hypertension, palpitations and depression. In February 1939 Freud suffered a heart attack after which he became paralysed on his right side and unable to speak clearly though he continued to write. On September 23, 1939 Freud died at his home in London where he had lived since 1938 with his daughter Anna who had taken care of him during his last years. He was 83 years old at the time of his death.
Freud’s death certificate states that he died of cancer of the jaw at his home 36 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and his ashes were placed in a memorial urn at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery.
