Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 at Freiberg, Moravia, and now Pribor, the Czech Republic. He changed his name to Sigmund when he was 22 years old. Being born to a Jewish family, he was also given a Jewish name: Schlomo. He was born in a Viennese family of three boys and five girls. His mother, Amalia Nathansohn, was 21 when she gave birth to her first child, Sigmund Freud. His father Jacob Freud was 41, married twice and had two children from his first marriage. Jacob was a textile dealer. .
In 1859 the economic crisis ruined Jacob's business; and the entire family, due to the unforeseen circumstances, had no other choice but to relocate to Vienna. They settled in Leopoldstadt, which was a Jewish neighborhood. .
Even though Freud's family had limited finance, they made every effort to foster his obvious intellectual capacities. In 1865 Sigmund was admitted to the Gymnasium (secondary school) one year ahead of time. He was a very bright student. At the age of 14 he was able to read in several languages. .
In 1873, upon the graduation from secondary school, Sigmund received "Summa Cum Laude" award. He planned to study law but after attending a lecture on Goethe's essay On Nature, he decided in favor of medical school. The same year, he has registered at the faculty of Medicine at the University of Vienna. For six years, from 1876 to 1882, he worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Psychology under Ernst Brucke with the concentration in neurology. It took him 8 years to obtain a doctorate in medicine. .
In 1885 Freud received a one-year scholarship with Jean-Martin Charcot at the "Salpetriere" in Paris. There he observed and practiced hypnosis. At the same time he began to formulate the beginnings of his theory on the mind.
One year later, in 1886, Freud opened his neurologist practice in Vienna. He specialized in nervous ailments, concentrating on hysteria. He continued to develop and modify his theory of mind, which later became known as Psychoanalysis, which focused on the unconscious aspects of personality.
