Short answers, pulled from the story.
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer born in 1685 in Halle, known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. He settled in London in 1712 and became a naturalised British subject in 1727, and is consistently recognised as one of the greatest composers of his age.
Handel's most famous work is the oratorio Messiah, with its "Hallelujah" chorus, among the most popular works in choral music. He composed it in London between the 22nd of August and the 14th of September 1741, and it was first performed at the New Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin, on the 13th of April 1742.
Handel stopped writing Italian operas after his success with Messiah in 1742, never composing one again. He had suffered a physical breakdown in 1737 and changed creative direction, addressing the middle class and turning to English choral works, partly because of dwindling financial returns from his operas.
Handel composed four anthems for the coronation of King George II in 1727, one of which, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. The words to Zadok the Priest are taken from the King James Bible.
Handel was buried in Westminster Abbey, where more than three thousand mourners attended his funeral, which was given full state honours. He died in 1759 at his home in Brook Street, London, aged 74, having become completely blind by 1752 after a failed cataract operation.
Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, organist at the Halle parish church, was the only teacher Handel ever had. Zachow introduced him to a vast collection of German and Italian music and taught composition by requiring Handel to copy selected scores.
Beethoven called Handel "the master of us all... the greatest composer that ever lived" and said he would kneel before his tomb. Mozart is reputed to have said, "Handel understands affect better than any of us. When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt."