Otto Henne am Rhyn was born on August 26, 1828 in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland. He died on May 1, 1914 in Weiz, Styria, Austria-Hungary. He was a son of the historian Josef Anton Henne, called “von Sargans”. After marrying Elisabeth am Rhyn, a member of the important Lucerne family Am Rhyn, he added her name to his own family name. Otto worked as a journalist and historian, and his comprehensive cultural history was a major contribution to the development of the German Kulturgeschichte (History of Civilization) school.

After studying at the Swiss universities of Bern and Geneva, he taught German, geography, and history at the local school at Sankt Gallen (1857–59). Later he served as an administrator of his canton and as its archivist. In 1861 he was admitted to the Concordia Lodge in St. Gallen, and from 1873 to 1878 he conducted the Freimaurerzeitung (Freemason News) in Leipzig, and joined the Loge Balduin in Leipzig.

Read more about Otto Henne am Rhynn in the Post Scriptum of 'Mysteria'.