What is W. G. Sebald known for?

W. G. Sebald is known for his unique literary works that merge fiction, history, and personal narrative, particularly in novels like *The Rings of Saturn*, *Vertigo*, and *Austerlitz*. His style is noted for its melancholic tone and use of historical reflection.

Where did W. G. Sebald work?

Sebald worked primarily in academia, teaching at the University of Manchester and the University of East Anglia. He also held positions at the University of Hamburg and the University of Fribourg.

What was W. G. Sebald's educational background?

Sebald studied at the University of Freiburg, University of Hamburg, University of Fribourg, and University of Manchester, where he later became a lecturer.

How did W. G. Sebald die?

W. G. Sebald died in a car accident on December 14, 2001, in Norfolk, England.

W. G. Sebald

Q: What awards did W. G. Sebald receive?

Sebald received several prestigious literary awards, including the Heinrich-Böll-Preis, the Berliner Literaturpreis, and the Joseph-Breitbach-Preis.

German writer and academic (1944-2001)

Person Human Q76952

Facts

24 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[30]
Date of birth: May 18, 1944
Date of death: December 14, 2001
Place of birth: Wertach
Place of death: Norfolk
Country of citizenship: Germany^[10]
Occupation: writer, photographer, literary scholar, university teacher, philologist
Employer: University of Manchester, University of East Anglia, University of Hamburg^[12]^[13]^[14]
Field of work: performing arts^[11]
Educated at: University of Freiburg, University of Fribourg^[15]^[16]
Award received: Heinrich-Böll-Preis, Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen, Berliner Literaturpreis, Johannes Bobrowski Medal, National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, Prix Laure Bataillon^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28]
Notable work: Vertigo, The Rings of Saturn, Austerlitz, Putrid Homeland: Essays on Literature, On the Natural History of Destruction^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]
Official website: www.wgsebald.de^[37]
Cause of death: car collision^[33]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English, German^[39]^[40]
Archives at: British Archive for Contemporary Writing, German Literature Archive Marbach^[31]^[32]
Copyright status as a creator: works protected by copyrights
Described by source: Neue Deutsche Biographie^[38]
Family name: Sebald^[34]
Given name: Winfried, Georg^[35]^[36]
Member of: German Academy for Language and Literature^[29]
Name in native language: W. G. Sebald^[41]
Writing language: German

🏷️ Also known as

en Winfried Georg Maximilian Sebald en Max Sebald en W. G. Sebald en W.G. Sebald ar W. G. Sebald ar و.ج. سيبالد ar و.خ. سيبالد ar وينفرد جورج ماكسيمليان سيبالد cs Max Sebald cs W.G. Sebald cs W. G. Zebâld cs Winfried Georg Sebald cs W. G. Sebald da Sebald da Winfried Georg Sebald de Winfried G. Sebald de W.G. Sebald de Winfried Georg Maximilian Sebald de Winfried Georg Sebald el Βίνφριντ Γκέοργκ Ζέμπαλντ

🔖 Identifiers · 115

ISNI: 0000000122760797
VIAF cluster ID: 7399859
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n85152532
GND ID: 119310007
AbART person ID: 88057
Adelphi author ID: 1420
American Academy in Rome ID: 12454808
Artists of the World ID: f05b934a-0a4c-44e2-9855-785c63e5e6e8
Awards & Winners artist ID: 043krc
BBC Things ID: 10ef4ce6-008b-4470-bdfe-69aa7fd4224f
BHCL UUID: 4ff65106-e510-47ef-b3a6-287b446b43c5
BIBSYS ID: 90288029

Show all 115 identifiers +103

BNB person ID (OBSOLETE): SebaldWG(WinfriedGeorg)1944-2001
BVMC person ID: 13772
Babelio author ID: 44086
BiblioNet author ID: 64981
Biblioteca Franco Serantini ID: 26500
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 11989575z
Bitraga author ID: 1954
BookBrainz author ID: 06566953-b46a-4068-be92-6020dace4841
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: sebald-w-g-winfried-georg
CANTIC ID: 981058517259806706
CBDB.cz author ID: 8465
CONOR.BG ID: 8163941
CONOR.SI ID: 7966819
CONOR.SR ID: 11118439
Chtyvo author ID: Winfried_Georg_Sebald
CiNii Research ID: 1140845216495827072
CoBiS author ID: 95a5yja38danymu29hb5ychr6cv36cr
DBNL author ID: seba009
DDB person (GND) ID: 119310007
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 119310007
Dialnet author ID: 674128
Discogs artist ID: 1928709
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/W-G-Sebald
Encyclopædia Universalis ID: w-g-sebald
Europeana entity: agent/base/68380
Evene ID: winfried-georg-maximilian-sebald-22058
FAST ID: 166221
FID performing arts ID: agent/gnd_119310007
Find a Grave memorial ID: 22095456
Flanders Arts Institute person ID (former scheme): 1914323
Freebase ID: /m/043krc
Germanistenverzeichnis ID: gb/00400_gb/445_gb
Goodreads author ID: 6580622
Google Arts & Culture entity ID: m043krc
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: winfried-georg-sebald
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0262665
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: W._G._Sebald, W.G._Sebald
Great Russian Encyclopedia portal ID: zebal-d-vinfrid-georg-64f4aa
Harper's tag: winfried-georg-sebald, w-g-sebald, w-g-winfried-georg-sebald
IdRef ID: 031428851
IxTheo authority ID: 080117821
J9U entity ID: 987007305525705171
JudaicaLink person (GND) ID: 119310007
KBR person ID: 14781402
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 119310007
Kallías ID: PE00036043
Kritisches Lexikon der Gegenwartsliteratur ID: 16000000521
Kunstenpunt Knowledge Graph ID: Pachycrocuta
LRB contributor ID: wg-sebald
Les Archives du spectacle person ID: 121395
Lex ID: W.G._Sebald
Libris-URI: c9prt3mw1kgh8bv
Los Angeles Review of Books author ID: w-g-sebald
Luminous-Lint ID: W_G__Sebald
MMB ID: 16112
Munzinger person ID: 00000021734
MusicBrainz artist ID: dc3bb08c-5b19-4fe1-9080-75edb3c470dc
NACSIS-CAT author ID: DA02139577
NDL Authority ID: 00924062
NE.se ID: w-g-sebald
NL CR AUT ID: ola2001100277
NLP ID: a0000002753770
NUKAT ID: n98081961
National Library of Greece ID: 296088, 260599
National Library of Korea ID: KAC200812105
National Library of Latvia ID: 000074166
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810550251305606
National Library of Portugal ID: 587149
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX1077180
National Portrait Gallery (London) person ID: mp165050
National Virtual Library of India ID: 1280518
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 068888740
Niedersächsische Personen ID: 1043220410
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 6859922
Open Library ID: OL34270A
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ID: 76593
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803100450700
PUG authority ID: 156950
Parsifal cluster ID: 183371
Perlentaucher ID: w-g-sebald
Poetry Foundation ID: wg-sebald
Pontificia Università della Santa Croce ID: 72448
Quora topic ID: W-G-Sebald
Radio France person ID: winfried-georg-sebald
Royal Academy ID: w-g-sebald
SBN author ID: SBLV283633
SEARCH on line catalogue ID: 75342
SELIBR ID: 222087
SHARE Catalogue author ID: 554643
SNAC ARK ID: w6g773pf
SVKKL authority ID: 0236597-Sebald-Winfried-G-19442001
Sancho el Sabio Foundation ID: 98509
Tabakalera ID: 46372
The Literary Encyclopedia person ID: 4961
Topic's main category: Category:Winfried Georg Sebald
Treccani ID: winfried-georg-maximilian-sebald
Treccani's Enciclopedia Italiana ID: winfried-georg-maximilian-sebald
University of Barcelona authority ID: 981058517259806706
University of Barcelona authority ID (former scheme): a1104447
Wellcome Collection concept ID: f6bxd5uc
WikiTree person ID: Sebald-74
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJxxgPqyppWRPJmfy4Dg8C
Yale LUX ID: person/154d024a-df52-4b8e-bacf-42919e3df24f

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Award received 4

Heinrich-Böll-Preis, Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen, Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, Berliner Literaturpreis

Occupation 4

writer, photographer, university teacher, literary scholar

Employer 3

University of Manchester, University of Hamburg, University of East Anglia

Notable work 3

Austerlitz, The Rings of Saturn, Vertigo

Works by author 3

Austerlitz, The Rings of Saturn, Vertigo

Educated at 2

University of Freiburg, University of Fribourg

Given name 2

Georg, Winfried

Languages spoken, written or signed 2

English, German

Archives at 1

German Literature Archive Marbach

Cause of death 1

car collision

Country of citizenship 1

Germany

Field of work 1

performing arts

Instance of 1

human

Kunstenpunt Knowledge Graph ID 1

Pachycrocuta

Member of 1

German Academy for Language and Literature

Place of birth 1

Wertach

Place of death 1

Norfolk

Sex or gender 1

male

Writing language 1

German

← FactGrid item ID 1

Berka/Werra

← SNARC ID 1

Wantage

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Summary

W. G. Sebald was born on May 18, 1944^[1], in Wertach^[2]. He died on December 14, 2001^[3], in Norfolk^[4]. He worked as a writer^[5], photographer^[6], literary scholar^[7], university teacher^[8], and philologist^[9].

Why It Matters

Works attributed to W. G. Sebald include Austerlitz^[42], a literary work^[43]; The Rings of Saturn^[44], a literary work^[45]; and Vertigo^[46], a written work^[47].

FAQs

Where was W. G. Sebald born?

W. G. Sebald's place of birth was Wertach^[2].

Where did W. G. Sebald die?

W. G. Sebald passed away in Norfolk^[4].

What did W. G. Sebald do for work?

W. G. Sebald worked as a writer^[5], photographer^[6], literary scholar^[7], university teacher^[8], and philologist^[9].

Where did W. G. Sebald go to school?

W. G. Sebald was educated at University of Freiburg^[15] and University of Fribourg^[16].

What awards did W. G. Sebald receive?

Honors received include Heinrich-Böll-Preis^[22], Joseph-Breitbach-Preis^[23], Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen^[24], and Berliner Literaturpreis^[25].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ W. G. Sebald — place of birth (P19): Wertach. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-12-10. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ W. G. Sebald — place of death (P20): Norfolk. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-11-07. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ W. G. Sebald — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ W. G. Sebald — country of citizenship (P27): Germany. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ W. G. Sebald — educated at (P69): University of Freiburg. Retrieved 2019-07-08. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ W. G. Sebald — educated at (P69): University of Fribourg. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ W. G. Sebald — field of work (P101): performing arts. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ W. G. Sebald — occupation (P106): writer. The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved 2021-04-01. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ W. G. Sebald — occupation (P106): photographer. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ W. G. Sebald — occupation (P106): literary scholar. The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved 2021-04-01. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ W. G. Sebald — occupation (P106): university teacher. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ W. G. Sebald — occupation (P106): philologist. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ W. G. Sebald — employer (P108): University of Manchester. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ W. G. Sebald — employer (P108): University of East Anglia. news.bbc.co.uk. news.bbc.co.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ W. G. Sebald — employer (P108): University of Hamburg. Retrieved 2019-07-03. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Heinrich-Böll-Preis. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Joseph-Breitbach-Preis. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Berliner Literaturpreis. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Johannes Bobrowski Medal. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. bookcritics.org. bookcritics.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ W. G. Sebald — award received (P166): Prix Laure Bataillon. meetingsaintnazaire.com. meetingsaintnazaire.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ W. G. Sebald — member of (P463): German Academy for Language and Literature. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ W. G. Sebald — archives at (P485): British Archive for Contemporary Writing. portal.uea.ac.uk. portal.uea.ac.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ W. G. Sebald — archives at (P485): German Literature Archive Marbach. dla-marbach.de. dla-marbach.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ W. G. Sebald — cause of death (P509): car collision. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ W. G. Sebald — date of birth (P569): May 18, 1944. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-04-09. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ W. G. Sebald — date of death (P570): December 14, 2001. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-04-09. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ W. G. Sebald — family name (P734): Sebald. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ W. G. Sebald — given name (P735): Winfried. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ W. G. Sebald — given name (P735): Georg. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ W. G. Sebald — notable work (P800): Vertigo. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ W. G. Sebald — notable work (P800): The Rings of Saturn. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ W. G. Sebald — notable work (P800): Austerlitz. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ W. G. Sebald — notable work (P800): Putrid Homeland: Essays on Literature. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ W. G. Sebald — notable work (P800): On the Natural History of Destruction. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ W. G. Sebald — official website (P856): http://www.wgsebald.de. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ W. G. Sebald — described by source (P1343): Neue Deutsche Biographie. Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 2026-11-02. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ W. G. Sebald — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): English. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ W. G. Sebald — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): German. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ W. G. Sebald — name in native language (P1559): W. G. Sebald. wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[43] ↑ Austerlitz — P31: literary work. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[45] ↑ The Rings of Saturn — P31: literary work. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[47] ↑ Vertigo — P31: written work. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). W. G. Sebald. Retrieved November 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-g-sebald

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_w-g-sebald_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{W. G. Sebald}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-g-sebald}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-10}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): W. G. Sebald — https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-g-sebald (retrieved 2026-11-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

1d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #65768: add GND as source to unsourced or imported places and occupations"
8d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Described by source → Neue Deutsche Biographie

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #63392: add described by source NDB and NDB-online (2/2)"
24d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID → W._G._Sebald, W.G._Sebald

Harper's tag → winfried-georg-sebald, w-g-sebald, w-g-winfried-georg-sebald

"SNL ID W._G._Sebald deprecated (now SNL W.G._Sebald), SNL ID W.G._Sebald, source for place of birth, source for date of birth, source for"
18w ago · MariuszRokin · 2026-07-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Niedersächsische Personen ID → 1043220410

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #39505: Add deprecated P13627 from Mix'n'match catalog 6981; live URL returned HTTP 404"
19w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-28 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Niedersächsische Personen ID → 1043220410

"Removed claim: Niedersächsische Personen ID: 1043220410, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782651488840"
21w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-06-11 view diff on Wikidata ↗

SVKKL authority ID → 0236597-Sebald-Winfried-G-19442001

"Created claim: SVKKL authority ID: 0236597-Sebald-Winfried-G-19442001, batch #259497"
24w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-21 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → writer, photographer, literary scholar +1

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #32152: import P21 and P106 from GND (34)"
26w ago · Gerwoman · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Award received → Heinrich-Böll-Preis, Joseph-Breitbach-Preis, Literaturpreis der Stadt Bremen +1

Sancho el Sabio Foundation ID → 98509

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #30423"

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