| 1712 | The family van Beethoven is of Flemish origin. Beethoven’s grandfather was a choirboy in Mecheln, director
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| 1733 | Grandfather Beethoven moves to Bonn. |
| 1740 | Around 1740 Beethoven’s father, Johann van Beethoven, was born in Bonn. |
| 1770 | December 17th, Ludwig van Beethoven’s baptism in Bonn. |
| 1778 | His first appearance in an academy concert at Cologne. Beethoven was meant to have similar successes like Mozart as a child prodigy, but his father’s tuition was not very successful and Beethoven’s very nature was not destined for such a career. |
| 1782 | Christian Gottlob Neefe (1748 - 1798) becomes his teacher. Beethoven found in him an ideal tutor who taught him piano and music theory with pedagogical insight. |
| 1787 | First stay in Vienna, which had to be cut short, however, because of his mother’s illness. After her death his father’s alcohol addiction grew worse. |
| 1792 |
Second journey to Vienna in November. He got instruction from Joseph Haydn, Johann Baptist Schenk (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon") and Antonio Salieri (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon"). Two years later French troops occupied the Palatinate in Cologne. This meant that an employment in the Court Chapel was no longer possible for Beethoven and a return to Bonn was out of the question.
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| 1793 | Beethoven travels to Eisenstadt with Joseph Haydn. |
| 1798 | His hearing begins to deteriorate. |
| 1802 |
On October 6th Beethoven writes his Heiligenstadt Testament, in which he reveals his mental anguish.
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| 1804 |
Composition of the 3rd symphony ("Eroica").
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| 1808 | Dezember 22nd:
In a great academy the 5th and 6th symphonies are first performed at the Theater an der Wien.
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| 1809 |
On March 1st Archduke Rudolph, Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon") and Ferdinand Kinsky sign a contract which guarantees Beethoven a life-long pension of 4,000 Gulden (florins). Vienna is besieged by Napoleon’s troops.
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| 1812 | Composition of the 7th symphony.
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| 1815 | Concerts at the Congress of Vienna. Death of his brother Karl. He becomes guardian of his nephew. |
| 1819 | Total deafness. He starts writing down conversations. 137 have been preserved (out of the 400 original ones). They give an insight into Beethoven’s everyday life. |
| 1824 | First performance of his 9th symphony at the Vienna Kärtnertortheater. |
| 1827 |
Liver cirrhosis, 4 operations. Death on the late afternoon of March 26th.
On March 29th he is buried at the Cemetery of Währing. The funeral is attended by more than 20,000 people. A funeral oration by Grillparzer (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon") is read by actor Heinrich Anschütz (cf. "Österreich-Lexikon").
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