Benedictus de Spinoza was born on 24 November 1632 in Amsterdam. A Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish descent, Spinoza was born in Amsterdam and was expelled from the Jewish community in 1656 for his views, after which he lived modestly as a lens grinder. His masterpiece, the Ethics, published after his death, sets out a system in the form of geometric proofs in which God and Nature are one substance and everything follows by necessity. His Theological-Political Treatise argued for freedom of thought and applied a critical, historical reading to the Bible. Both works were condemned as dangerous in his time, but he became one of the central thinkers of the Enlightenment and of modern philosophy. He died of a lung illness in The Hague.
Before and after
- October 1632Birth of Johannes Vermeer
- 20 October 1632Birth of Christopher Wren
- 24 October 1632Birth of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- 16 November 1632Battle of Lützen
- 24 November 1632Birth of Benedictus de Spinoza
- from 1633 to 1634Polish–Ottoman War of 1633–34
- 14 October 1633Birth of James II of England
- 1634Founding of Braintree
- 1634Founding of Attleboro
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1 January 1519Origins of Reformed Christianity
- 1605Publication of Don Quixote
- 1652Origins of Quakers
- from 1660 to 1725Rise of Classicism
- from c. 1730s to 1780sRise of Rococo
- 1759Construction of British Museum
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.