On this day in history: Ludwig van Beethoven died, 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, then part of the Electorate of Cologne, in December 1770. He came from a musical family: his grandfather was musical director at the court of the Elector of Cologne, where Ludwig's father also played. Ludwig received his early musical tuition from his father as well as other local musicians, including Christian Gottlob Neefe, who taught him composition.

Following the death of Ludwig's mother, his father descended into alcoholism leaving Ludwig to take care of his younger brothers. Nevertheless, he continued with his musical career, playing viola with a number of orchestras. While travelling with the Court Chapel Orchestra, he met his future friend and patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein.

In 1792 Beethoven moved to Vienna to receive instruction initially from Joseph Haydn, and then from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. He gained a reputation as a piano virtuoso, earning money playing at aristocratic salons, before publishing his first collection of compositions in 1795. His compositions proved popular, enabling to embark on a tour of Europe accompanied by his patron, Prince Lichnowsky.

In 1800, Beethoven premièred his first symphony, and the following year he composed Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia" (Op. 27, No. 2), known as the Moonlight Sonata, as well as a ballet called The Creatures of Prometheus. By this time he had began to lose his hearing, which hampered his ability to play in public, but he continued to compose. In 1804 he completed his Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55), known as Eroica, which he originally intended to dedicate to Napoleon Bonaparte. When Bonaparte declared himself emperor, Beethoven was so angered by this betrayal of the principles of the French Revolution that he scratched Bonaparte's name from the manuscript.

In 1808 he completed two of his his most famous works, Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Op. 67) and Symphony No. 6 in F major (Op. 68), known as the Pastoral Symphony. The period after 1811 was one of relative compositional inactivity for Beethoven due to illness and personal problems, but in 1817 he began work on his Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Op. 125), known as the "Choral". This was innovative in its use of voices in a symphony, with the final movement using the words of Schiller's poem, "Ode to Joy".

His health continued to deteriorate and in 1825, Beethoven became bedridden. He had four operations to relieve abdominal swellings, but it became clear that he would not return to health. He died on 26th March 1872, and was buried three days later when over 20,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession to Währing cemetery.

Related posts
First performance of Das Rheingold: 22nd September 1869
Première of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra: 27th November 1896
Riot at première of Stravinsky`s Rite of Spring: 29th May 1913

On this day in history: Principality of Liechtenstein created, 1719

The Princely family of Liechtenstein took their name from a castle in Austria that they owned in the twelfth- and thirteenth-centuries (the name means "bright stone"). This wealthy dynasty acquired lands across the Holy Roman Empire, but they only held these territories as fiefdoms
under superior feudal nobles, to whom they often acted as close advisers. The Third Prince, Hans-Adam I, occasionally worked for the Imperial Court as a financial advisor when he wasn't acquiring a substantial fortune for himself.

Hans-Adam used his fortune to fulfil a dynastic ambition: to hold lands directly under the Imperial throne and thus gain the power associated with a seat in the Imperial diet, called the Reichstag. He purchased the domain of Schellenberg in 1699 and the county of Vaduz thirteen years later just before he died. On 23rd January 1719 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV decreed that the two lands were united as a Fürstentum ("principality") with the name Liechtenstein in honour of the Fifth Prince Anton-Florian, who had served the Emperor as Chief Intendant and Prime Minister when he was Archduke of Austria.

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Holy Roman Empire ended: 6th August 1806

On this day in history: Paracelsus died, 1541

Born Phillip von Hohenheim at the Swiss village of Maria Einsiedeln sometime in 1493, he followed his father into a career in medicine. Following the completion of his doctorate at the University of Ferrara, he worked as an itinerant physician and occasionally as a miner across Europe from the Netherlands to Russia. He ended up at the University of Basel where he held the chair of medicine.

After a legal row he was forced to leave the city after less than a year that he spent upsetting his fellow academics with his new ideas and refusal to accept traditional Galenic medical practice. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals in the treatment of ailments and is credited with naming the element zinc. While he rejected some medical orthodoxies, such as magical theories, he maintained the hermetic idea of maintaining harmony within the body and was himself a practising astrologer and alchemist.

After leaving Basel he travelled around Europe, Africa and Asia Minor as a seeker of occult knowledge, initially under the grand name of Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim and then simply as Paracelsus (meaning 'equal to Celsus' - an ancient Greek who wrote a famous tract on medicine). He continued to write on medical and occult subjects but often had problem finding publishers for his works. He died at the age of 48 (possibly under suspicious circumstances) on 24th September 1541. In the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth Paracelsus' works achieved a wider acceptance and helped shape modern medicine.

To learn more see the Zurich Paracelsus Project pages hosted by the University of Zurich Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine.

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Pasteurization developed: 20th April 1862
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On this day in history: Ludwig van Beethoven died, 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, then part of the Electorate of Cologne, in December 1770. He came from a musical family: his grandfather was musical director at the court of the Elector of Cologne, where Ludwig's father also played. Ludwig received his early musical tuition from his father as well as other local musicians, including Christian Gottlob Neefe, who taught him composition.

Following the death of Ludwig's mother, his father descended into alcoholism leaving Ludwig to take care of his younger brothers. Nevertheless, he continued with his musical career, playing viola with a number of orchestras. While travelling with the Court Chapel Orchestra, he met his future friend and patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein.

In 1792 Beethoven moved to Vienna to receive instruction initially from Joseph Haydn, and then from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. He gained a reputation as a piano virtuoso, earning money playing at aristocratic salons, before publishing his first collection of compositions in 1795. His compositions proved popular, enabling to embark on a tour of Europe accompanied by his patron, Prince Lichnowsky.

In 1800, Beethoven premièred his first symphony, and the following year he composed Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia" (Op. 27, No. 2), known as the Moonlight Sonata, as well as a ballet called The Creatures of Prometheus. By this time he had began to lose his hearing, which hampered his ability to play in public, but he continued to compose. In 1804 he completed his Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55), known as Eroica, which he originally intended to dedicate to Napoleon Bonaparte. When Bonaparte declared himself emperor, Beethoven was so angered by this betrayal of the principles of the French Revolution that he scratched Bonaparte's name from the manuscript.

In 1808 he completed two of his his most famous works, Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Op. 67) and Symphony No. 6 in F major (Op. 68), known as the Pastoral Symphony. The period after 1811 was one of relative compositional inactivity for Beethoven due to illness and personal problems, but in 1817 he began work on his Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Op. 125), known as the "Choral". This was innovative in its use of voices in a symphony, with the final movement using the words of Schiller's poem, "Ode to Joy".

His health continued to deteriorate and in 1825, Beethoven became bedridden. He had four operations to relieve abdominal swellings, but it became clear that he would not return to health. He died on 26th March 1872, and was buried three days later when over 20,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession to Währing cemetery.

Related posts
First performance of Das Rheingold: 22nd September 1869
Première of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra: 27th November 1896
Riot at première of Stravinsky`s Rite of Spring: 29th May 1913

On this day in history: Principality of Liechtenstein created, 1719

The Princely family of Liechtenstein took their name from a castle in Austria that they owned in the twelfth- and thirteenth-centuries (the name means "bright stone"). This wealthy dynasty acquired lands across the Holy Roman Empire, but they only held these territories as fiefdoms
under superior feudal nobles, to whom they often acted as close advisers. The Third Prince, Hans-Adam I, occasionally worked for the Imperial Court as a financial advisor when he wasn't acquiring a substantial fortune for himself.

Hans-Adam used his fortune to fulfil a dynastic ambition: to hold lands directly under the Imperial throne and thus gain the power associated with a seat in the Imperial diet, called the Reichstag. He purchased the domain of Schellenberg in 1699 and the county of Vaduz thirteen years later just before he died. On 23rd January 1719 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV decreed that the two lands were united as a Fürstentum ("principality") with the name Liechtenstein in honour of the Fifth Prince Anton-Florian, who had served the Emperor as Chief Intendant and Prime Minister when he was Archduke of Austria.

Related posts
Holy Roman Empire ended: 6th August 1806

On this day in history: Paracelsus died, 1541

Born Phillip von Hohenheim at the Swiss village of Maria Einsiedeln sometime in 1493, he followed his father into a career in medicine. Following the completion of his doctorate at the University of Ferrara, he worked as an itinerant physician and occasionally as a miner across Europe from the Netherlands to Russia. He ended up at the University of Basel where he held the chair of medicine.

After a legal row he was forced to leave the city after less than a year that he spent upsetting his fellow academics with his new ideas and refusal to accept traditional Galenic medical practice. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals in the treatment of ailments and is credited with naming the element zinc. While he rejected some medical orthodoxies, such as magical theories, he maintained the hermetic idea of maintaining harmony within the body and was himself a practising astrologer and alchemist.

After leaving Basel he travelled around Europe, Africa and Asia Minor as a seeker of occult knowledge, initially under the grand name of Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim and then simply as Paracelsus (meaning 'equal to Celsus' - an ancient Greek who wrote a famous tract on medicine). He continued to write on medical and occult subjects but often had problem finding publishers for his works. He died at the age of 48 (possibly under suspicious circumstances) on 24th September 1541. In the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth Paracelsus' works achieved a wider acceptance and helped shape modern medicine.

To learn more see the Zurich Paracelsus Project pages hosted by the University of Zurich Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine.

Related posts
Pasteurization developed: 20th April 1862
Iron lung used for first time: 12th October 1928

On this day in history: Ludwig van Beethoven died, 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, then part of the Electorate of Cologne, in December 1770. He came from a musical family: his grandfather was musical director at the court of the Elector of Cologne, where Ludwig's father also played. Ludwig received his early musical tuition from his father as well as other local musicians, including Christian Gottlob Neefe, who taught him composition.

Following the death of Ludwig's mother, his father descended into alcoholism leaving Ludwig to take care of his younger brothers. Nevertheless, he continued with his musical career, playing viola with a number of orchestras. While travelling with the Court Chapel Orchestra, he met his future friend and patron, Count Ferdinand Waldstein.

In 1792 Beethoven moved to Vienna to receive instruction initially from Joseph Haydn, and then from Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. He gained a reputation as a piano virtuoso, earning money playing at aristocratic salons, before publishing his first collection of compositions in 1795. His compositions proved popular, enabling to embark on a tour of Europe accompanied by his patron, Prince Lichnowsky.

In 1800, Beethoven premièred his first symphony, and the following year he composed Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia" (Op. 27, No. 2), known as the Moonlight Sonata, as well as a ballet called The Creatures of Prometheus. By this time he had began to lose his hearing, which hampered his ability to play in public, but he continued to compose. In 1804 he completed his Symphony No. 3 in E flat major (Op. 55), known as Eroica, which he originally intended to dedicate to Napoleon Bonaparte. When Bonaparte declared himself emperor, Beethoven was so angered by this betrayal of the principles of the French Revolution that he scratched Bonaparte's name from the manuscript.

In 1808 he completed two of his his most famous works, Symphony No. 5 in C minor (Op. 67) and Symphony No. 6 in F major (Op. 68), known as the Pastoral Symphony. The period after 1811 was one of relative compositional inactivity for Beethoven due to illness and personal problems, but in 1817 he began work on his Symphony No. 9 in D minor (Op. 125), known as the "Choral". This was innovative in its use of voices in a symphony, with the final movement using the words of Schiller's poem, "Ode to Joy".

His health continued to deteriorate and in 1825, Beethoven became bedridden. He had four operations to relieve abdominal swellings, but it became clear that he would not return to health. He died on 26th March 1872, and was buried three days later when over 20,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession to Währing cemetery.

Related posts
First performance of Das Rheingold: 22nd September 1869
Première of Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra: 27th November 1896
Riot at première of Stravinsky`s Rite of Spring: 29th May 1913

On this day in history: Principality of Liechtenstein created, 1719

The Princely family of Liechtenstein took their name from a castle in Austria that they owned in the twelfth- and thirteenth-centuries (the name means "bright stone"). This wealthy dynasty acquired lands across the Holy Roman Empire, but they only held these territories as fiefdoms
under superior feudal nobles, to whom they often acted as close advisers. The Third Prince, Hans-Adam I, occasionally worked for the Imperial Court as a financial advisor when he wasn't acquiring a substantial fortune for himself.

Hans-Adam used his fortune to fulfil a dynastic ambition: to hold lands directly under the Imperial throne and thus gain the power associated with a seat in the Imperial diet, called the Reichstag. He purchased the domain of Schellenberg in 1699 and the county of Vaduz thirteen years later just before he died. On 23rd January 1719 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV decreed that the two lands were united as a Fürstentum ("principality") with the name Liechtenstein in honour of the Fifth Prince Anton-Florian, who had served the Emperor as Chief Intendant and Prime Minister when he was Archduke of Austria.

Related posts
Holy Roman Empire ended: 6th August 1806

On this day in history: Paracelsus died, 1541

Born Phillip von Hohenheim at the Swiss village of Maria Einsiedeln sometime in 1493, he followed his father into a career in medicine. Following the completion of his doctorate at the University of Ferrara, he worked as an itinerant physician and occasionally as a miner across Europe from the Netherlands to Russia. He ended up at the University of Basel where he held the chair of medicine.

After a legal row he was forced to leave the city after less than a year that he spent upsetting his fellow academics with his new ideas and refusal to accept traditional Galenic medical practice. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals in the treatment of ailments and is credited with naming the element zinc. While he rejected some medical orthodoxies, such as magical theories, he maintained the hermetic idea of maintaining harmony within the body and was himself a practising astrologer and alchemist.

After leaving Basel he travelled around Europe, Africa and Asia Minor as a seeker of occult knowledge, initially under the grand name of Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim and then simply as Paracelsus (meaning 'equal to Celsus' - an ancient Greek who wrote a famous tract on medicine). He continued to write on medical and occult subjects but often had problem finding publishers for his works. He died at the age of 48 (possibly under suspicious circumstances) on 24th September 1541. In the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth Paracelsus' works achieved a wider acceptance and helped shape modern medicine.

To learn more see the Zurich Paracelsus Project pages hosted by the University of Zurich Institute and Museum for the History of Medicine.

Related posts
Pasteurization developed: 20th April, 1862
Iron lung used for first time: 12th October, 1928