Claude Debussy was born on 22 August 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. A French composer, Debussy was a central figure of musical impressionism, even though he disliked the label. He abandoned traditional harmonic rules in favor of whole-tone scales, modal colors and fluid forms, as in Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, the orchestral work La Mer, and his piano pieces such as Clair de lune. His only completed opera, Pelleas et Melisande, was a landmark of the symbolist movement. He influenced later composers including Ravel, Stravinsky and Bartok, and helped to open the way to modern music.
Before and after
- 16 July 1862Discovery of Comet Swift–Tuttle
- 24 July 1862Death of Martin Van Buren
- from 14 August 1862 to 10 October 1862Confederate Heartland Offensive
- from 17 August 1862 to 26 December 1862Dakota War of 1862
- 22 August 1862Birth of Claude Debussy
- 29 August 1862Birth of Maurice Maeterlinck
- 17 September 1862Battle of Antietam
- 15 November 1862Birth of Gerhart Hauptmann
- from 31 December 1862 to 2 January 1863Battle of Stones River
More in Art, literature & culture
- 10 August 1793Construction of Louvre Museum
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1 November 1800Construction of White House
- 1886Statue of Liberty
- c. 1900sRise of modernism
- 1907Rise of cubism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.