Writers in Geneva
The atlas holds 23 people and 44 moments here, from 58 BC to 1990. The most recorded lives are Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Calvin and Voltaire.
Notable people
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
from 1712 to 1754
6 moments here
Genevan philosopher, writer, composer, and a major figure of the European Enlightenment. Rousseau’s documented movements ranged across Geneva, Savoy,…
John Calvin
from 1536 to 1564
6 moments here
French Protestant reformer, pastor, and author. Born in Noyon, he studied law in Bourges and spent formative periods in Paris and Basel before moving…
Voltaire
from 1754 to 1761
5 moments here
François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, dramatist, and philosopher.…
Jorge Luis Borges
from 1914 to 1986
5 moments here
Argentine writer, poet, essayist, translator, lecturer, librarian, and critic. Borges was born in Buenos Aires, lived in Switzerland and Spain during…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
from 1862 to 1868
2 moments here
Russian novelist, journalist, essayist, and former military engineer whose life moved between Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Siberian imprisonment and…
Lord Byron
in 1816
2 moments here
George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), was a British poet, peer, and political speaker.…
Honoré de Balzac
from 1832 to 1833
2 moments here
French novelist and playwright, born in Tours and dead in Paris. Balzac created La Comédie humaine, an interlinked fictional panorama of…
Ronald Reagan
in 1985
1 moment here
American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…
Nelson Mandela
in 1990
1 moment here
South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, lawyer and statesman. Mandela helped lead the African National Congress, co-founded its armed wing,…
Julius Caesar
in 58 BC
1 moment here
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman politician, general, orator and author whose career spanned the late Roman Republic.…
Hans Christian Andersen
in 1833
1 moment here
Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…
Adam Smith
in 1765
1 moment here
Scottish moral philosopher and political economist of the Scottish Enlightenment, author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the…
Gabriel García Márquez
in 1955
1 moment here
Colombian novelist, journalist, screenwriter, and Nobel laureate whose life moved between Colombia, Europe, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and…
Benito Mussolini
in 1904
1 moment here
Italian journalist, Fascist leader, and dictator of Italy from 1922 until his removal in 1943.…
Jimmy Carter
in 1977
1 moment here
James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…
Stephen Hawking
in 1985
1 moment here
English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author whose work on singularities, black-hole thermodynamics, and Hawking radiation reshaped modern…
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
in 1889
1 moment here
Russian Romantic composer whose career ranged from civil-service work and conservatory teaching in Saint Petersburg and Moscow to international…
Michael Faraday
in 1814
1 moment here
English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…
Giuseppe Verdi
in 1859
1 moment here
Italian composer whose career transformed nineteenth-century opera. Born near Busseto, Verdi studied and worked in Busseto and Milan, then traveled…
Indira Gandhi
in 1981
1 moment here
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…
John Milton
in 1639
1 moment here
English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. This chronology follows documented residences, education, continental travel, marriages, public service,…
Giordano Bruno
in 1579
1 moment here
Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…
Gabriela Mistral
in 1928
1 moment here
Chilean poet, educator, journalist, and diplomat born Lucila Godoy Alcayaga. Mistral taught across Chile, worked on Mexican educational reform,…
Moments
- 58 BC Arrives near Geneva Julius Caesar
- 1536 First arrival and stay in Geneva John Calvin
- 1537 Pastoral office in first Genevan ministry John Calvin
- 1538 Banishment from Geneva John Calvin
- 1541 Return to Geneva with his family John Calvin
- 1564 Final sermon at St. Pierre John Calvin
- 1564 Death in Geneva John Calvin
- 1579 University enrollment in Geneva Giordano Bruno
- 1639 Stay in Geneva John Milton
- 1712 Birth in Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1722 Boarding at Bossey Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1724 Apprenticeship in Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1728 Flight from Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1737 Inheritance visit to Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1754 Return to Geneva and reconversion Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1754 Arrives in Geneva Voltaire
- 1755 Establishes Les Délices Voltaire
- 1758 Makes his first visit to Ferney Voltaire
- 1759 Divides his time among border residences Voltaire
- 1761 Settles at Château de Voltaire Voltaire
- 1765 Departure from Geneva for Paris Adam Smith
- 1814 Writing from Geneva Michael Faraday
- 1816 Residence at Villa Diodati Lord Byron
- 1816 Visits to Coppet Lord Byron
- 1832 Geneva visit after Castries journey Honoré de Balzac
- 1833 Geneva winter with Hańska Honoré de Balzac
- 1833 Arrives in Geneva Hans Christian Andersen
- 1859 Marriage to Giuseppina Strepponi Giuseppe Verdi
- 1862 Traveled through Geneva Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1868 Moved to Geneva Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1889 Second European tour: Geneva concert Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1904 Passport arrest and expulsion Benito Mussolini
- 1914 Geneva residence and education Jorge Luis Borges
- 1914 Studies begin at the Collège de Genève Jorge Luis Borges
- 1928 Work trip to Geneva from Provence Gabriela Mistral
- 1955 Foreign-correspondent assignment in Geneva Gabriel García Márquez
- 1977 Geneva official visit Jimmy Carter
- 1981 World Health Assembly attendance Indira Gandhi
- 1985 Medical emergency during CERN trip Stephen Hawking
- 1985 Final departure for Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1985 Meets Gorbachev in Geneva Ronald Reagan
- 1986 Marriage through Paraguayan consulate in Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1986 Death in Geneva Jorge Luis Borges
- 1990 Visits Geneva Nelson Mandela