45 moments

1. Birth in Boston

   1803-05-25 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

   Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

2. Begins Boston Latin School

   1812-01-01 · Boston Latin School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

   Emerson began formal schooling at Boston Latin School. The source gives a year but not a more precise date; coordinates represent Boston Latin School in central Boston rather than the historic school building.

3. Enters Harvard College

   1817-10-01 · Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   At fourteen, Emerson entered Harvard College, beginning the Harvard education that shaped his early intellectual life.

4. Studies at Harvard Divinity School

   1825-02-01 · Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   Emerson entered Harvard Divinity School during his preparation for the Unitarian ministry. The source does not specify a building for February 1825; coordinates are for Harvard Divinity School.

5. Health journey to Charleston

   1826-01-01 · Charleston, South Carolina, United States

   Seeking a warmer climate because of poor health, Emerson went first to Charleston. The source supplies only the year for this visit.

6. Teaches in Roxbury

   1826-01-01 · Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

   Emerson took charge of his brother Edward’s school in Roxbury. The school’s exact site is not supplied; coordinates represent Roxbury.

7. Teaches and studies in Cambridge

   1826-04-01 · Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

   After Roxbury, Emerson returned to Cambridge, where he taught through the summer and attended Divinity School lectures. The source identifies residences at Mellen House and Dr. Levi Hedge’s house but does not provide enough location detail for a defensible exact-house coordinate.

8. Winter in St. Augustine

   1827-01-01 · St. Augustine, Florida, United States

   Emerson spent the winter in St. Augustine during his southern health journey, walking the beach, writing poetry, and meeting Achille Murat. The source specifies winter 1827 but no machine-readable month; date is therefore limited to the year.

9. Meets Ellen Tucker

   1827-12-25 · Concord, New Hampshire, United States

   Emerson met his future first wife, Ellen Louisa Tucker, in Concord, New Hampshire.

10. Residence at Divinity Hall

    1828-01-01 · Divinity Hall, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson continued his theological studies while residing at Divinity Hall and preaching in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The source establishes residence during 1828 but does not supply a more precise start date.

11. Ordination at Second Church

    1829-03-11 · Second Church, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson was ordained at Boston’s Second Church and began his ministerial career there. The historic church building is not specified in the source; coordinates represent Boston.

12. Marriage to Ellen Tucker

    1829-09-30 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson married Ellen Louisa Tucker in Boston. The chronology supplies the date but not a marriage venue.

13. Sails for Europe

    1832-12-25 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    After leaving the Second Church pastorate, Emerson departed Boston for his first European journey. Coordinates represent Boston’s waterfront area generally; the departing berth is not identified.

14. Arrival in Malta

    1833-02-02 · Malta

    Malta was Emerson’s first documented stop on his 1833 European tour. The source identifies Malta but not a harbor or settlement; coordinates are a representative point for the island country.

15. Arrival in Paris

    1833-06-20 · Paris, France

    During his European tour, Emerson arrived in Paris and visited the Jardin des Plantes.

16. Arrival in London

    1833-07-21 · London, England, United Kingdom

    Emerson arrived in London before continuing through Britain and meeting major British writers and thinkers.

17. Lives at Newton Upper Falls

    1833-10-01 · Newton Upper Falls, Newton, Massachusetts, United States

    After his return from Europe, Emerson joined his mother at Newton Upper Falls. The source connects this move to his October 1833 return but does not give an exact arrival day.

18. Return to New York

    1833-10-09 · New York, New York, United States

    Emerson returned to the United States following his first European journey. The arrival port is not specified beyond New York.

19. First public lecture

    1833-11-05 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson delivered “The Uses of Natural History,” the first of roughly 1,500 lectures he would give. The lecture venue is not identified.

20. Moves to Concord

    1834-10-09 · Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Emerson moved to Concord, where he would establish the home base of his mature career. He initially lived at the Old Manse; coordinates represent central Concord because the cited chronology gives only the town.

21. Begins Boston lecture series

    1835-01-29 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson began his “Biography” lecture series in Boston, an early step in his professional lecturing career. The lecture venue is not identified.

22. Concord bicentennial lecture

    1835-09-12 · Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson delivered a discourse commemorating the two-hundredth anniversary of Concord. The specific venue is not supplied.

23. Marriage to Lidian Jackson

    1835-09-14 · Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson married Lydia Jackson, whom he called Lidian, in her hometown of Plymouth. The source establishes the date by stating the marriage occurred two days after the September 12 Concord lecture.

24. Moves into Concord home

    1835-09-15 · Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    The day after his second marriage, Emerson moved with Lidian and his mother into the Concord house that became the Emerson family home. Coordinates are for the Emerson House at 28 Cambridge Turnpike.

25. Begins Philosophy of History lectures

    1836-12-08 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson began his “Philosophy of History” lecture series in Boston. The chronology gives no venue.

26. Delivers The American Scholar

    1837-08-31 · Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson delivered the Phi Beta Kappa address later known as “The American Scholar” at Harvard. The address was delivered before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge; coordinates represent Harvard Yard.

27. Delivers Divinity School Address

    1838-07-15 · Divinity Hall, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson delivered the address to Harvard Divinity School’s graduating class that became known as the “Divinity School Address.”

28. Delivers The Method of Nature

    1841-08-11 · Waterville College, Waterville, Maine, United States

    Emerson delivered “The Method of Nature” at Waterville College, now Colby College. Coordinates represent the present Colby College campus in Waterville; the nineteenth-century college site is not specified by the chronology.

29. Begins New England lectures

    1843-01-10 · Baltimore, Maryland, United States

    Emerson began a “New England” lecture series in Baltimore. The venue is not identified.

30. Emancipation address at Concord Court House

    1844-08-01 · Concord Court House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    Emerson publicly addressed emancipation on the anniversary of British West Indian emancipation. Coordinates represent central Concord near the historic courthouse location.

31. Arrives in Paris on second European tour

    1848-05-07 · Paris, France

    

    During his 1847–1848 British lecture tour, Emerson arrived in Paris.

32. Lectures in London

    1848-06-06 · London, England, United Kingdom

    

    After returning from Paris to England, Emerson began his “Mind and Manners in the Nineteenth-Century” lectures in London. The lecture venue is not identified.

33. Lectures in Montreal

    1852-04-01 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    

    Emerson lectured in Montreal during an April Canadian appearance. The source supplies month but not a specific day or venue.

34. Begins Topics of Modern Times lectures

    1854-01-03 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

    

    Emerson began a “Topics of Modern Times” lecture series in Philadelphia. The lecture venue is not identified.

35. Philosophers Camp at Follensby Pond

    1858-08-01 · Follensby Pond, Adirondack Mountains, New York, United States

    

    Emerson joined nine companions in the Adirondack wilderness at Follensby Pond during the excursion later called Philosophers Camp. The party began its journey on August 2, but the cited sentence dates Emerson’s camping only to summer 1858; date is recorded as August because the same account says the excursion began August 2.

36. Smithsonian antislavery lecture

    1862-01-31 · Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

    

    Emerson visited Washington during the Civil War and delivered a public Smithsonian lecture calling emancipation a demand of civilization. Coordinates represent the Smithsonian Institution area on the National Mall; the precise building is not specified.

37. Meets President Lincoln

    1862-02-01 · White House, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

    

    Charles Sumner took Emerson to the White House, where Emerson met President Abraham Lincoln.

38. Stopover in Salt Lake City

    1871-01-01 · Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

    

    During his transcontinental railroad journey to California, Emerson stopped in Salt Lake City and met Brigham Young. The cited biography dates the larger journey to spring 1871 but does not state the Salt Lake City stopover date.

39. Visits Yosemite Valley

    1871-05-01 · Yosemite Valley, California, United States

    

    On his California journey, Emerson visited Yosemite, where he met John Muir. The source gives month but not an exact day.

40. Fire at Concord home

    1872-07-24 · Ralph Waldo Emerson House, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    A fire damaged Emerson’s Concord home and effectively ended his regular public lecturing career. The quote establishes Emerson’s home as the fire site; his presence there that day is supported by the immediately following account that he called for help from neighbors.

41. Arrives in Egypt

    1872-12-25 · Egypt

    

    Following the 1872 fire, Emerson traveled with his daughter Ellen through Europe and Egypt. The source identifies Egypt but not a port, city, or archaeological site; coordinates are a representative point for the country.

42. Opens Concord Free Public Library

    1873-10-01 · Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    After returning from his final European and Egyptian journey, Emerson delivered the opening address for Concord Free Public Library. Coordinates represent the Concord Free Public Library site.

43. Fortune of the Republic address

    1878-02-25 · Boston, Massachusetts, United States

    

    In declining health, Emerson delivered his late public address “Fortune of the Republic” in Boston. The venue is not identified.

44. Hundredth Concord Lyceum lecture

    1880-02-04 · Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Emerson delivered his hundredth lecture before the Concord Lyceum, one of his final documented public appearances as a lecturer. The chronology names the Concord Lyceum but not its specific meeting venue.

45. Death in Concord

    1882-04-27 · Concord, Massachusetts, United States

    

    Emerson died at Concord, Massachusetts, after a brief final illness. The source does not identify the exact house or room of death.