Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh was born in Groot Zundert, The Netherlands on 30 March 1853. Van Gogh's birth came one year to the day after his mother gave birth to a first, stillborn child, also named Vincent. There has been a lot of controversy about Vincent van Gogh suffering later psychological trauma as a result of being a "replacement child" and having a deceased brother with the same name and same birth date. This theory …showed first 75 words of 785 total…

…showed last 75 words of 785 total…most difficult courses--ironic given that he spoke four languages quite fluently: Dutch, English, French and German. In November Vincent failed to qualify for the mission school in Laeken after a three-month trial period. Never one to be deterred by adversity, Vincent van Gogh eventually made arrangements with the Church to begin a trial period preaching in one of the most inhospitable and impoverished regions in western Europe: the coal mining district of The Borinage, Belgium.