On This Day
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Friedrich Schiller's play "Wilhelm Tell" premieres

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian.

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered to be one of Germany's most important classical playwrights.

He was born in Marbach to a devoutly Protestant family. Initially intended for the priesthood, in 1773 he entered a military academy in Stuttgart and ended up studying medicine. His first play, The Robbers, was written at this time and proved very successful. After a brief stint as a regimental doctor, he left Stuttgart and eventually wound up in Weimar.

Historical Significance

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian.

Events Before

  1. Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Roy

    Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam

  2. John Hawkins and Richard French patent the reaping machine

    John Hawkins and Richard French patent the reaping machine

  3. The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson

    The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane, lit. 'Sale of Louisiana') was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803.

  4. The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London

    The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London

  5. US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane, lit. 'Sale of Louisiana') was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803.

Events After

  1. Lady Caroline Ponsonby (19) marries future Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne (26) in London, until her death i

    Lady Caroline Ponsonby (19) marries future Prime Minister William Lamb, Lord Melbourne (26) in London, until her death in 1928

  2. Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson is shot and ki

    Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson is shot and killed during the battle.

  3. Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, the first European Ame

    Lewis and Clark Expedition, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, reaches the Pacific Ocean, the first European Americans to cross the West

  4. Ludwig van Beethoven's "Fidelio", his only opera, premieres at Vienna's Theater an der Wien

    Fidelio, originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe (Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love), Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

  5. Harmony Society officially forms

    Harmony Society officially forms

More from the 1800s

The dissolution of the Dutch East India Company comes into effect

The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874.

Italian monk Giuseppe Piazzi discovers the dwarf planet Ceres

Giuseppe Piazzi was an Italian Catholic priest of the Theatine order, mathematician, and astronomer.

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Roy

Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam

Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares Saint-Domingue (Haiti) independent from France, ending the 13-year-long Haitian Revolut

Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares Saint-Domingue (Haiti) independent from France, ending the 13-year-long Haitian Revolution; becoming the only state ever founded by formerly enslaved people and without slavery

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 17, 1804?
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered to be one of Germany's most important classical playwrights. He was born in Marbach to a devoutly Protestant family.
Why is Friedrich Schiller's play "Wilhelm Tell" premieres significant?
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian.

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March 17 in HistoryYear 1804