Ralph Waldo Emerson - biography.

Ralph Waldo Emerson - biography. American essayist, philosopher, and poet Birth May 25, 1803 Death April 27, 1882 Place of Boston, Massachusetts Birth Known as A leader of the American literary movement of transcendentalism, which rejected the conventions of formal religion and argued that one can achieve spirituality through intuition and connection with nature Milestones 1821 Graduated from Harvard University 1829 Was ordained as a Unitarian minister, but left the church in 1832 due to philosophical differences with the religion 1832-1833 In Europe, met British writers Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle, and began a lifelong correspondence with the latter 1834 Moved to Concord, Massachusetts, and over the next few years developed a circle of literary friends, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and Margaret Fuller 1836 Anonymously published his first book, Nature, a long philosophical essay that established his transcendentalist views 1837 Gave his 'American Scholar' lecture to Harvard students 1838 Delivered the 'Address at Divinity College' 1841 Published his first series of Essays, which included 'Self-Reliance,' 'Prudence,' and 'Friendship' 1842-1844 Edited The Dial, a transcendentalist journal 1844 Published his second series of Essays 1846 Published Poems 1860 Published a volume of lectures titled The Conduct of Life Quote 'Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.' Essays, 'Self-Reliance' (1841) Did You At 14, Emerson was the youngest member of his freshman class at Harvard. Know Emerson was known among his circle of friends as the Sage of Concord. Emerson advocated women's rights and the abolition of slavery. Emerson's memory deteriorated during the last ten years of his life; though he attended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's funeral in 1882, he could not remember the poet's name. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.