1770

Events in 1770 8

• 1770 – 1844 Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) Died 24 March 1844, aged 73 Danish neoclassical sculptor who worked in Rome for four decades. His works include the Lion of Lucerne and the Christ statue in Copenhagen Cathedral.
• 1770 – 1840 Frederick William III of Prussia (1770-1840) Died 7 June 1840, aged 69 Frederick William III was King of Prussia from 1797, leading his kingdom through the Napoleonic Wars and subsequent reforms. He joined the alliance that defeated Napoleon and later helped shape the German Confederation. He died on 7 June 1840 and was succeeded by his son, Frederick William IV.
• 1770 – 1843 Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843) Died 7 June 1843, aged 73 Friedrich Hölderlin was a German lyric poet and the author of the novel Hyperion. He spent his last 36 years mentally ill in a tower in Tübingen, and his reputation grew greatly in the twentieth century.
• 1770 – 1844 Sir Francis Burdett (1770-1844) Died 23 January 1844, aged 73 British politician and long-serving radical campaigner for parliamentary reform. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1810 after a breach of parliamentary privilege.
• 1770 – 1838 William Clark (1770-1838) Died 1 September 1838, aged 68 William Clark, co-leader with Meriwether Lewis of the 1804-1806 expedition that mapped a route to the Pacific, died in St. Louis. He later served for decades as governor of Missouri Territory and as federal superintendent of Indian affairs. His maps and journals remained foundational sources on the geography of the American West.
• 1770 – 1850 William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Died 23 April 1850, aged 80 Wordsworth was a founder of English Romanticism and served as Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death. His autobiographical poem The Prelude was published posthumously the same year. He had been the dominant figure in British poetry for over three decades.
• 1770 – 1850 Jane Austen English novelist Austen wrote novels like Pride and Prejudice that examine class, love, and society with sharp irony and realism.
• 1770 – 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven Classical & Romantic titan German composer whose 9 symphonies, 32 piano sonatas and string quartets bridged the Classical and Romantic eras. He composed his greatest works while profoundly deaf.