Franz Xaver Gruber (November 25, 1787 – June 7, 1863), was an Austrian primary school teacher and church organist in the village of Arnsdorf. At the same time he was organist and choirmaster at St. Nicholas Church in the neighboring village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg and then in later years moved on to Hallein, Salzburg. Together with Josef Mohr (original German lyrics), a Catholic priest, Gruber composed the Christmas carol Silent Night. On December 24, 1818, Mohr, an assistant pastor at St. Nicholas, showed Gruber a six-stanza poem he had written in 1816.

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