Franz Xaver [Franz] Gruber (25/11/1787 - 07/09/1863) an Austrian composer, born in Un­ter­weiz­berg, son of a lin­en weav­er, Gru­ber learned the vi­o­lin against his fa­ther’s wish­es, and stu­died or­gan un­der Ge­org Hart­dob­ler. He taught school at Arns­dorf, Aus­tria (1807-1829), and in 1816 be­gan play­ing the or­gan at St. Ni­ko­laus Church in Obern­dorf. Lat­er, he served as head­mas­ter in Bern­dorf (1828-1832), and played the or­gan and di­rect­ed the choir at Hall­ein (1833-1863). He is said to have com­posed over 90 mu­sic­al piec­es.