Historical figures of the Enlightenment
The atlas holds 77 people and 1,409 moments here, from 1685 to 1815. The most recorded lives are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Joséphine de Beauharnais. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Philosophers.
Notable people
George Washington
from 1732 to 1799
44 moments here
George Washington was a Virginia surveyor, planter, military commander, revolutionary leader, constitutional statesman, and the first president of…
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…
Giuseppe Verdi
in 1813
1 moment here
Italian composer whose career transformed nineteenth-century opera. Born near Busseto, Verdi studied and worked in Busseto and Milan, then traveled…
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from 1687 to 1716
35 moments here
German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…
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…
Harriet Beecher Stowe
in 1811
1 moment here
American author and abolitionist best known for Uncle Tom's Cabin. Her documented life included formative years in Connecticut, a long residence in…
Heinrich Heine
from 1797 to 1815
2 moments here
German poet, essayist, journalist, and literary critic. Born in Düsseldorf, Heine studied in Bonn, Göttingen, and Berlin, traveled widely in Germany…
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…
Immanuel Kant
from 1724 to 1804
15 moments here
German Enlightenment philosopher whose critical philosophy transformed epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, and political thought.…
Isaac Newton
from 1687 to 1727
10 moments here
English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, alchemist, author, and public official.…
James Buchanan
from 1791 to 1809
3 moments here
James Buchanan Jr. was an American lawyer, diplomat, senator, secretary of state, and the fifteenth president of the United States.…
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…
James K. Polk
from 1795 to 1814
5 moments here
James Knox Polk was the eleventh president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. Born in North Carolina and raised largely in Tennessee,…
James Madison
from 1751 to 1814
25 moments here
James Madison (1751–1836) was a Virginia planter, revolutionary politician, delegate to the Continental and Confederation congresses, architect of…
James Monroe
from 1758 to 1814
28 moments here
James Monroe was an American Revolutionary War officer, Virginia politician, diplomat, secretary of state and war, and fifth president of the United…
James Watt
from 1736 to 1790
13 moments here
Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist whose separate-condenser improvement to the steam engine was foundational to industrialization.…
Jane Austen
from 1775 to 1815
45 moments here
English novelist Jane Austen spent her life in southern England, principally in Hampshire, Bath, Southampton, Chawton, and Winchester.…
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.…
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
from 1712 to 1778
39 moments here
Genevan philosopher, writer, composer, and a major figure of the European Enlightenment. Rousseau’s documented movements ranged across Geneva, Savoy,…
Johann Sebastian Bach
from 1685 to 1750
24 moments here
German Baroque composer, organist, violinist, keyboard virtuoso, and musical director. Born in Eisenach, Bach was educated in Ohrdruf and Lüneburg…
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
from 1749 to 1815
71 moments here
German poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, theatre director, and statesman. Born in Frankfurt, Goethe studied in Leipzig and Strasbourg, practiced…
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.…
John James Audubon
from 1788 to 1812
9 moments here
French-American artist, naturalist, explorer, and ornithologist best known for The Birds of America.…
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,…
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