Historical figures of the Enlightenment
The atlas holds 51 people and 1,112 moments here, from 1685 to 1815. The most recorded lives are Arthur Schopenhauer, Leonhard Euler and Jonathan Swift. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Philosophers.
Notable people
Arthur Schopenhauer
from 1788 to 1814
19 moments here
German philosopher and writer, born in Danzig and dead in Frankfurt am Main. His documented movements included childhood residences in Hamburg and Le…
Leonhard Euler
from 1707 to 1783
18 moments here
Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, engineer, and polymath. Euler’s documented life moved from Basel and nearby Riehen to Saint Petersburg,…
Jonathan Swift
from 1688 to 1745
18 moments here
Anglo-Irish writer, satirist, political pamphleteer, and Church of Ireland cleric, best known for Gulliver's Travels, A Tale of a Tub, and A Modest…
Carl Friedrich Gauss
from 1777 to 1810
17 moments here
German mathematician, astronomer, geodesist, and physicist. Gauss was born in Brunswick, studied there and at Göttingen, worked privately in…
Daniel Defoe
from 1685 to 1731
16 moments here
English merchant, political writer, journalist, intelligence agent, and novelist. This chronology records documented physical presences from his…
Immanuel Kant
from 1724 to 1804
15 moments here
German Enlightenment philosopher whose critical philosophy transformed epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and political thought.…
Antonio Vivaldi
from 1703 to 1741
12 moments here
Italian Baroque composer, violinist, priest, teacher, and opera impresario. Born in Venice, Vivaldi held long associations with the Ospedale della…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
from 1770 to 1808
11 moments here
German philosopher and a central figure of German idealism. His documented movements include formative study in Stuttgart and Tübingen; tutoring…
Michael Faraday
from 1791 to 1815
11 moments here
English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…
Isaac Newton
from 1687 to 1727
10 moments here
English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, alchemist, author, and public official.…
James Cook
from 1728 to 1776
8 moments here
British naval officer, hydrographer and explorer whose surveys of Newfoundland and three Pacific voyages transformed European geographic knowledge of…
Honoré de Balzac
from 1799 to 1814
7 moments here
French novelist and playwright, born in Tours and dead in Paris. Balzac created La Comédie humaine, an interlinked fictional panorama of…
John Locke
from 1688 to 1704
6 moments here
English philosopher, physician, and political writer. Locke was born in Somerset, educated in London and Oxford, served Lord Shaftesbury in London,…
Louis XIV
from 1685 to 1715
6 moments here
Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 1638–1715), king of France from 1643, was the Bourbon monarch known as the Sun King.…
Alexander Pushkin
from 1799 to 1815
5 moments here
Russian poet, novelist, playwright, and foundational figure of modern Russian literature. This chronology traces documented physical presences from…
Victor Hugo
from 1802 to 1811
3 moments here
French Romantic poet, novelist, dramatist, artist, activist, and politician. This chronology traces documented physical presences from his mobile…
Edgar Allan Poe
from 1809 to 1815
3 moments here
American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic whose work helped shape Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and early science fiction.…
Abraham Lincoln
from 1809 to 1811
2 moments here
American lawyer, Illinois legislator, congressman, and sixteenth president of the United States.…
Charles Darwin
from 1809 to 1813
2 moments here
English naturalist, geologist, and biologist whose observations during the global voyage of HMS Beagle and subsequent research led to his theory of…
Charles Dickens
from 1812 to 1815
2 moments here
English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…
Hans Christian Andersen
from 1805 to 1807
2 moments here
Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…
Richard Wagner
from 1813 to 1814
2 moments here
German composer, conductor, theatre director, and essayist whose movements included early work in German theatre, exile in Switzerland, stays in…
Frédéric Chopin
in 1810
2 moments here
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period. Born in Żelazowa Wola, he grew up and trained in Warsaw, travelled through Central…
Jean de La Fontaine
from 1693 to 1695
2 moments here
French fabulist, poet, dramatist, and author whose Fables became foundational works of French literature.…
Moments
- 1697 Arrival at Zaandam Peter the Great
- 1697 Shipbuilding study in Amsterdam Peter the Great
- 1697 Visit to Delft Peter the Great
- 1698 Arrival on Victoria Embankment Peter the Great
- 1698 Fleet review at Deptford Peter the Great
- 1698 Extended periods in Berlin Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1699 Accompanied Berkeley to Dublin Jonathan Swift
- 1700 Permanent residence at Versailles Louis XIV
- 1700 Student at the College of Juilly Montesquieu
- 1700 Moved to Lüneburg Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1700 Vicarage of Laracor Jonathan Swift
- 1700 Vienna church-union talks Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1700 Took possession of St Patrick's prebend Jonathan Swift
- 1700 Departure from Narva before battle Peter the Great
- 1701 With the Kentish petitioners Daniel Defoe
- 1702 Final visit to London John Locke
- 1702 Doctor of Divinity at Trinity College Jonathan Swift
- 1702 University matriculation George Frideric Handel
- 1702 Domkirche organist appointment George Frideric Handel
- 1702 Residence at Lützenburg and Berlin Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1703 Imprisonment in Newgate Daniel Defoe
- 1703 Opera orchestra post George Frideric Handel
- 1703 Residence in the new Saint Petersburg Peter the Great
- 1703 Pilloried at Cheapside Conduit Daniel Defoe
- 1703 Pilloried at Temple Bar Daniel Defoe
- 1703 Pilloried at the Royal Exchange Daniel Defoe
- 1703 Seditious-libel trial Daniel Defoe
- 1703 Examined Arnstadt’s new organ Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1703 Violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pietà Antonio Vivaldi
- 1704 Dresden scientific-society mission Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1704 Studies at Louis-le-Grand Voltaire
- 1704 Arrival at Lützenburg Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1704 Death at Oates Manor John Locke
- 1705 Legal studies in Bordeaux Montesquieu
- 1706 Birth on Milk Street Benjamin Franklin
- 1706 Secret mission to Edinburgh Daniel Defoe
- 1706 Italian journey George Frideric Handel
- 1706 Returned from extended Lübeck study Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1706 Berlin residence Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1707 Roman patronage George Frideric Handel
- 1707 First-Fruits mission in London Jonathan Swift
- 1707 Childhood in Riehen Leonhard Euler
- 1707 Baptism at St. Martin's Church Leonhard Euler
- 1707 Birth in Basel Leonhard Euler
- 1707 Birth at Råshult Carl Linnaeus
- 1707 Accepted Mühlhausen organist post Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1707 Married Maria Barbara in Dornheim Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1708 Government correspondence from Edinburgh Daniel Defoe
- 1708 Vienna visit Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1709 Short return to Leipzig Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz