Erwin Schrödinger was born into an intellectual family.

On August 12, 1887, Schrödinger was born in Vienna, Austria. He was the lone child of a botanist and owner of an oil cloth firm Rudolf Schrödinger and Georgine Emilia Brenda, daughter of Alexander Bauer, Rudolf's chemistry professor at the Technical College of Vienna (Technische Hochschule Vienna).

Erwin's father was from a Bavarian family that had made Vienna home for many generations before. He had a wide range of schooling and was quite bright. He spent years focusing on Italian art after finishing his scientific studies. After that, he decided to pursue botany, which led to a number of articles on plant phylogeny.

While his father was a Catholic, his mother was Lutheran and a mix of English and Austrian descent. Unbeknownst to many, Erwin Schrödinger was an atheist despite having been brought up by two devout parents and growing up in a church-going family. This is one of the interesting facts about Erwin Schrödinger.

Schrödinger's broad interests go back to his time in the Gymnasium when he developed an interest in a variety of subjects besides science, including the strict logic of classical grammatical structures and the grace of German poetry, in addition to developing a love for the scientific fields. The memorization of information and studying from books were things he detested. Before enrolling at Vienna's Akademisches Gymnasium, Schrödinger had individual instruction at home until he was 11 years old.