Born on August 11th, 1883 in Colmar, grew up in Strasbourg since 1886. At the age of 17, Stadler published poems and took part in meetings of the "Youngest Alsace" art group. After completing his doctorate in German and Romance studies, he went to Oxford on a scholarship, where he wrote his post-doctoral thesis, Wieland's Shakespeare. In the fall of 1913 he agreed to an appointment as "Associate Professor" to Toronto; his lectureship was due to begin at the end of September 1914. At the very beginning of the First World War, however, he was called up and fell after three months at Zandvoorde in Flanders.