Writers of the Enlightenment

The atlas holds 36 people and 671 moments here, from 1685 to 1815. The most recorded lives are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Voltaire and Jane Austen.

Notable people

  1. John Adams

    from 1735 to 1801

    32 moments here

    American lawyer, revolutionary leader, diplomat, first vice president of the United States, and second U.S. president.…

  2. 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,…

  3. 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…

  4. 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,…

  5. Lord Byron

    from 1788 to 1815

    26 moments here

    George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), was a British poet, peer, and political speaker.…

  6. Michael Faraday

    from 1791 to 1815

    11 moments here

    English chemist and physicist whose experimental work transformed the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.…

  7. Montesquieu

    from 1689 to 1755

    29 moments here

    Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu, was a French jurist, historian, and political philosopher.…

  8. Otto von Bismarck

    in 1815

    1 moment here

    Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian and German statesman, diplomat, and the first chancellor of the German Empire.…

  9. 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…

  10. Thomas Jefferson

    from 1743 to 1801

    27 moments here

    Thomas Jefferson was an American lawyer, Virginia political leader, diplomat, secretary of state, vice president, and third president of the United…

  11. 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…

  12. Voltaire

    from 1694 to 1778

    51 moments here

    François-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, dramatist, and philosopher.…

Moments

  1. 1716 Death in Hanover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
  2. 1717 First Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
  3. 1720 Enrollment at the University of Basel Leonhard Euler
  4. 1722 Boarding at Bossey Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  5. 1722 Arranges clandestine publication in Rouen Voltaire
  6. 1722 Finds a publisher at The Hague Voltaire
  7. 1722 Meets Rousseau in Brussels Voltaire
  8. 1723 Move to Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin
  9. 1723 Baptism at Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Adam Smith
  10. 1724 Journeyman printer in London Benjamin Franklin
  11. 1724 Apprenticeship in Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  12. 1724 Born in Königsberg Immanuel Kant
  13. 1726 Lives with Fawkener in Wandsworth Voltaire
  14. 1726 Takes rooms at Durham Court Voltaire
  15. 1726 Second Bastille imprisonment Voltaire
  16. 1726 Embarks from Calais for England Voltaire
  17. 1727 Junto founded Benjamin Franklin
  18. 1727 Embarkation from Lübeck Leonhard Euler
  19. 1727 Post-wagon journey through Giessen Leonhard Euler
  20. 1727 Post-wagon journey through Kassel Leonhard Euler
  21. 1727 Rhine voyage to Mainz Leonhard Euler
  22. 1727 Departure from Basel for Russia Leonhard Euler
  23. 1727 Departure from Frankfurt am Main Leonhard Euler
  24. 1727 Arrival at Saint Petersburg Leonhard Euler
  25. 1727 Lodges above the White Peruke Voltaire
  26. 1728 Waits in Dieppe after exile Voltaire
  27. 1728 Arrival at Madame de Warens's home Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  28. 1728 Flight from Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  29. 1728 Catholic baptism in Turin Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  30. 1729 Burgh School education Adam Smith
  31. 1729 Pennsylvania Gazette publisher Benjamin Franklin
  32. 1729 Return to Annecy Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  33. 1730 Attends the Hospitalschule Immanuel Kant
  34. 1731 Life with de Warens at Chambéry Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  35. 1732 Begins at Collegium Fridericianum Immanuel Kant
  36. 1732 Born at Popes Creek George Washington
  37. 1734 Takes refuge at Cirey Voltaire
  38. 1735 Lives at Little Hunting Creek George Washington
  39. 1735 Residence at Les Charmettes Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  40. 1735 Birth on the Adams family farm John Adams
  41. 1737 Student at Glasgow Adam Smith
  42. 1737 Inheritance visit to Geneva Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  43. 1738 Moves to Ferry Farm George Washington
  44. 1739 Lives largely in Brussels Voltaire
  45. 1740 Departure for Oxford Adam Smith
  46. 1740 Oxford study Adam Smith
  47. 1740 Enters the University of Königsberg Immanuel Kant
  48. 1740 Graduates from Collegium Fridericianum Immanuel Kant
  49. 1740 Tutor in Lyon Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  50. 1740 Negotiates with a Hague publisher Voltaire

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