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Date of Birth
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, during the Electorate of Cologne which was the ruling of the Holy Roman empire, on December 16, 1770. His mother and father were Maria Magdalena van Beethoven, a "deeply moralistic woman" and Johann van Beethoven, an court singer and alcoholic. Beethoven also believed he was born in a different year, because there are official papers of Beethoven's baptism, it is unclear why Beethoven insisted that he was born in 1772. Source:(Jacob) -
First Public Performance
Beethoven's first public performance was on March 26, 1778. He was seven years old and preformed extremely well. This performance was just the very beginning of Ludwig van Beethoven's career as a world famous composer. Source: (Biography.com) -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion started in 1786 and lasted one year until 1787. There were many protests that took place to show the weak government under the Articles of Confederation. American farmers, lead by Daniel Shay, a former Continental Army captain, rebelled against the government. The most serious protests were in Massachusetts because of the weak economy and high tax rate. Farmers began to lose their farms due to their debt as well. Source:(Grun) -
Death of Joseph II
Joseph II was born on March 3rd, 1741 and became the Holy Roman Emperor after his father died. During his time of power, he tried to issue decrees to institute equality and education among the people. His goal was to strengthen the Hapsburg empire with his Enlightenment reformations. After he passed, Beethoven received a huge honor of composing a piece in memorial of Joseph II. Source: (Biography.com) -
Louis XVI was executed
Louis XVI, the last king of France, was executed by the guillotine on January 21st, 1793. Before his death, he and his family were tried for treason. He was soon found guilty and put to death but the guillotine in Place de la Révolution. This later lead to Napoleon Bonaparte and Beethoven's 3rd symphony. Source:(Biography.com) -
Beethoven becomes deaf
Beethoven wrote a letter to his close friend, Franz Wegeler, in 1801 expressing his loss of hearing. "I must confess that I lead a miserable life. For almost two years I have ceased to attend any social functions, just because I find it impossible to say to people: I am deaf." Beethoven struggled with his deafness. Some of his pieces were composed while he was deaf, including "The Creature of Prometheus" which was performed 27 times at the Imperial Court Theater. Sources:(Jacob, Biography.com) -
Symphony No. 1
Beethoven's 1st symphony was performed at the Royal Imperial Theater for the first time on April 2nd, 1800. Beethoven later greatly disliked the piece because of his lack of experience. "In those days I did not know how to compose," Beethoven said. Sources:(Biography.com, Jacob) -
Napoleon becomes Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte became the first emperor of France after grabbing the crown out of the pope's hands and placing it on his head. Napoleon reformed France's government, education, and rights of the people. He also expanded his large empire even farther. Beethoven dedicated his 3rd symphony to Napoleon in hopes of a great emperor. Source:(Biography.com) -
Symphony No. 3
This piece was dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte just a few weeks after he was declared emperor. Beethoven had admired Napoleon because of his superhuman strength in expanding the empire. Later, Beethoven renamed the piece the "Eroica Symphony" because of his dislike in Napoleon later. This was the largest and most original work out of all of his pieces. It was extremely unique and took musicians an abnormal amount of time to figure out it was intended to be played.
Sources:(Jacobs, Biography.com) -
Symphony No. 5
Beethoven's 5th symphony is best known by people nowadays. It is instantly recognizable by the first four notes in the whole piece. It took four years for Beethoven to complete the symphony because he was working on other pieces in the process, including the 6th symphony. It premiered in Vienna, Austria at the same time as his 6th symphony in 1808. Sources:(McGraw-Hill 459) -
Fur Elise
Fur Elise means "For Elise" but no one is quite sure who Elise is, possibly a close friend or musician. It was originally written in 1810, however, not published until 40 years after his death, in 1867. This piece was discovered by a German music scholar in 1867 and published the same year. Source:(Jacob, Biography.com) -
Battle of Hanau
The battle of Hanau started on October 13th 1813. It was a failed attempt to stop Napoleon and his army from retreating during the 6th Coalition. It was considered a very bloody battle. Beethoven dedicated his 7th symphony to the soldiers wounded in this battle to help cheer them up. Source:(Biography.com) -
Symphony No. 7
This piece was dedicated to be benefited for soldiers that were wounded during the battle of Hanau. It was said to be the most energetic and optimistic symphonies because it was used to boost the soldiers morale. The 7th symphony was started in 1811 and took around two years to complete. Sources:(Biography.com) -
Napoleon leaves Elba
Napoleon escaped his exile in Elba in March of 1815 and made secretly made his way to Paris after seeing France struggling. King Louis XVIII fled France and Napoleon quickly regained the power. People were overjoyed that he was back but he struggled to reform France again. His "reign" lasted one hundred days and then was sent into exile again. Source:(Biography.com) -
Symphony No. 9
This was Beethoven's last symphony. It was published in 1824, three years before his death. It featured a choral finale with four soloists and a chorus in the background singing Ode to Joy, a poem by Friedrich Schiller. It is considered the most famous piece of music in all of history. Sources:(Biography.com, Jacob) -
Date of Death
Beethoven died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria. His autopsy revealed that the cause of death was most likely post hepatitic cirrohosis located in his liver. Some people think that he could have died from possible lead poisoning, however it is highly unlikely. Ludwig van Beethoven died, at the age of 56, a famous composer that would not be forgotten. Sources:(Biography.com, Jacob)
