Where and when was Frederick Trump (Friedrich Trump) born in Germany?
Executive summary
Frederick Trump (born Friedrich Trump) was born on 14 March 1869 in the village of Kallstadt (then in the Palatinate, part of the Kingdom of Bavaria), according to multiple genealogical and historical accounts [1] [2] [3]. He emigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1885 and later anglicized his name to Frederick [2] [3].
1. Birthplace and date: Kallstadt, 14 March 1869
Primary online accounts consistently list Friedrich Trump’s birthplace as Kallstadt, a small village in the Palatinate region (today Rhineland‑Palatinate) and give his birth date as 14 March 1869 [1] [4] [3]. Major histories of the family and biographical summaries — including History.com and cemetery and genealogy records — repeat that Kallstadt is the village tied to the Trump ancestral line [2] [1].
2. Political geography: “Kallstadt, Bavaria” and the pre‑1918 context
Sources point out that Kallstadt in Friedrich’s time was administratively part of the Kingdom of Bavaria within the newly formed German Empire (post‑1871). Reports and family histories note the Palatinate’s shifting status and describe Kallstadt as being in Bavaria during the 19th century, which is relevant to how records were kept and how Friedrich’s nationality was recorded [5] [3].
3. Emigration at 16 and name Anglicization
Friedrich left Kallstadt as a teenager in 1885 and arrived in New York; contemporary biographies and family trees document that he later anglicized his name to Frederick when establishing himself in the United States [2] [3]. Historians cite his departure at age 16 as tied to avoiding mandatory military conscription and to seeking economic opportunity abroad [2].
4. Documentary corroboration and public artifacts
Multiple genealogy sites, cemetery records, and media accounts record the same birth date and Kallstadt origin [1] [4]. In 2025, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz presented a copy of Friedrich’s birth certificate to President Donald Trump, and news coverage described the birth record as showing March 14, 1869, in Kallstadt [6]. These citations corroborate the local‑level records reported by genealogists.
5. Disputes and common confusions — father vs. son
Reporting repeatedly warns of a common public confusion between Friedrich (the immigrant) and his son Fred (Frederick Christ Trump Sr.), who was born in New York in 1905. Fact‑checking outlets emphasize that Donald Trump’s father, Fred (born 1905), was U.S.‑born, while his grandfather Friedrich was German‑born in Kallstadt [7] [8]. Misstatements in public remarks have sometimes conflated the two generations [9].
6. What sources do not say or resolve
Available sources do not mention the original parish register image or provide a direct scanned copy of the Kallstadt birth registry in the materials assembled here, except through secondary reports and the referenced presentation of a birth certificate [6]. Some family‑tree and fan sites repeat the same data without showing primary documents; historians cite biographies and archives but full archival citations are not present in every item in this collection [2] [1].
7. Why this matters: identity, migration and memory
The clear distinction between Friedrich (born 1869 in Kallstadt) and his U.S.‑born son shapes debates about ancestral origin, political rhetoric and the public record. Media and fact‑checkers have used this genealogical point to correct public claims about birthplace and heritage [7] [9]. The gift of a birth certificate from a German chancellor in 2025 underlines how a local 19th‑century birth can become a diplomatic and symbolic artifact [6].
Limitations: this summary relies on the cited news, genealogy and historical summaries provided; primary Kallstadt registry images are not included among these sources and some genealogy sites are derivative [1] [4] [2].