George Eliot was born on 22 November 1819 in Nuneaton. An English novelist, poet and translator, George Eliot was the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, who adopted a male name so that her books would be taken seriously. Her novels, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, are known for realism, psychological insight and moral seriousness, and for their depiction of provincial life. Middlemarch is often rated among the greatest novels in English. Before writing fiction she was an editor and translator of German works such as Strauss's Life of Jesus. Her relationship with the critic George Henry Lewes scandalized Victorian society.
Before and after
- 25 August 1819Death of James Watt
- 13 September 1819Birth of Clara Schumann
- from 3 November 1819 to 22 December 1819Persian Gulf campaign of 1819
- 19 November 1819Construction of Museo del Prado
- 22 November 1819Birth of George Eliot
- 1820Founding of Indiana University Bloomington
- 1820Missouri Compromise
- 1820Oersted discovers electromagnetism
- 14 March 1820Birth of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of La Marseillaise
- 1863Origins of Baháʼí Faith
- 26 November 1865Publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- 1871The Internationale
- from 1886 to 1905Rise of Post-impressionism
- from 6 April 1896 to 15 April 18961896 Summer Olympics
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.