Karl May

Karl May
BornKarl Friedrich May
(1842-02-25)25 February 1842
Ernstthal, Kingdom of Saxony, German Confederation
Died30 March 1912(1912-03-30) (aged 70)
Radebeul, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
OccupationWriter, author
GenreWestern, travel fiction, German homeland novels, adventure novels
Spouse
Emma Pollmer
(m. 1880; div. 1903)
Website
www.karl-may-gesellschaft.de

Karl Friedrich May (/m/ MY, German: [kaʁl ˈmaɪ] ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his novels of travels and adventures, set in the American Old West, the Orient, the Middle East, Latin America, China and Germany. He also wrote poetry, a play, and composed music. He was a proficient player of several musical instruments. Many of his works were adapted for film, theatre, audio dramas and comics. Later in his career, May turned to philosophical and spiritual genres. He is one of the best-selling German writers of all time, with about 200,000,000 copies sold worldwide.