Curated category
Age of Enlightenment
- Age of EnlightenmentThe year 1637 marked a turning point when René Descartes published his Discourse on the Method. This text introduced a radical approach to knowledge that…
- Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was baptized on the 17th of December 1770 in the Catholic Parish of St. Remigius. His father Johann claimed Ludwig was six years old for…
- Immanuel KantImmanuel Kant was born on the 22nd of April 1724 in Königsberg, Prussia. His father Johann Georg worked as a harness maker from Memel while his mother Anna…
- Jean-Jacques RousseauJean-Jacques Rousseau was born on the 28th of June 1712 in the Republic of Geneva. His mother Suzanne Bernard died nine days after his birth from puerperal…
- René DescartesRené Descartes entered the world on the 31st of March 1596 in La Haye en Touraine, France. His mother Jeanne Brochard died just days after his birth while…
- Baroque musicThe French word baroque is derived from the Portuguese barroco, meaning an irregularly-shaped pearl. Although it was long thought that the word as a critical…
- Joseph HaydnIn the village of Rohrau, Austria, a child named Joseph Haydn was born on the 31st of March 1732. His father Mathias worked as a wheelwright and served as…
- 1775–1795 in Western fashionIn 1750, the consumer revolution brought about cheaper copies of fashionable styles. This shift allowed members of all classes to partake in fashionable…
- Francis BaconFrancis Bacon was born on the 22nd of January 1561 at York House near Strand in London. He entered Trinity College at the University of Cambridge on the 5th…
- Enlightened absolutismEnlightened absolutism emerged as a political philosophy during the 18th and early 19th centuries. European absolute monarchs adopted Enlightenment ideas to…
- American RevolutionIn 1651, Parliament passed the first Navigation Act to restrict colonial trade with foreign countries. This law required that any European imports bound for…
- Republic of LettersA letter dated the 6th of July 1417 carries the first known Latin phrase Respublica literaria. Francesco Barbaro wrote to Poggio Bracciolini using these…
- Founding Fathers of the United StatesU.S. senator Warren G. Harding introduced the phrase Founding Fathers to Americans during his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention in 1916.
- PolymathThe word polymath derives from the Greek roots poly-, which means "much" or "many," and manthanein, which means "to learn." Plutarch wrote that the Ancient…