Norman Douglas was born on 8 December 1868, in Thüringen in the Vorarlberg, the mountainous, westernmost region of Austria, into a predominantly Scottish family that had settled there to run the region's cotton mills. Although Douglas was only five when his father Sholto died, he seems to have idolized him, adopting Sholto's enthusiasm for natural history and the out-of-doors as his own.
Douglas spent his early school years at several British schools, all of which he loathed. As a result of his unhappiness, he was allowed to attend the Karlsruhe gymnasium in what was then the Grand Duchy of Baden. There, despite having developed a “healthy contempt for all education,” he studied widely and enthusiastically, mastering several languages. His interest in natural history had thrived, and
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Citation: Koger, Grove. "Norman Douglas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001; last revised 17 January 2022. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1300, accessed 22 November 2024.]
