hiː wʌz bˈɔːɹn ɪn hˈɜːʃbɜːɡ, stˈʌdid ɪn lˈaɪpsɪɡ, ænd spˈɛnt sˌʌm tˈaɪm ɪn bɜːlˈɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi sˈɛvən nˈaɪnti tˈuː, wˌɛɹ hiː bɪkˌeɪm ɐ fɹˈɛnd ʌv dʒˈɔːɹɡ sˈɪməl.
He was born in Hirschberg, studied in Leipzig, and spent some time in Berlin (1887–92), where he became a friend of Georg Simmel.