Felix Mendelssohn was born on 3 February 1809 in Hamburg. A German composer, pianist and conductor of the early Romantic period, Mendelssohn was a child prodigy who wrote his string octet at sixteen and the overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream at seventeen. His works include the Italian and Scottish symphonies, the Violin Concerto in E minor and the oratorio Elijah. In 1829 he conducted Bach's St Matthew Passion in Berlin, helping to revive interest in Bach's music. He also founded the Leipzig Conservatory, led the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and was a favorite of Queen Victoria and British audiences.
Before and after
- 1809Lamarck proposes the first theory of evolution
- 4 January 1809Birth of Louis Braille
- 15 January 1809Birth of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
- 19 January 1809Birth of Edgar Allan Poe
- 3 February 1809Birth of Felix Mendelssohn
- 12 February 1809Birth of Charles Darwin
- 12 February 1809Birth of Abraham Lincoln
- 31 March 1809Birth of Nikolai Gogol
- from 10 April 1809 to 14 October 1809War of the Fifth Coalition
More in Art, literature & culture
- from 18th century to 19th centuryRomanticism
- 1 November 1800Construction of White House
- 1830Publication of Book of Mormon
- c. 1900sRise of Expressionism
- 1907Rise of cubism
- c. 1910sRise of Dada
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.