Born: 24 November 1632 · Died: 21 February 1677 · Age: 44
Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish descent whose Ethics identified God with nature and helped lay the ground for the Enlightenment
Did you know?He turned down several prestigious teaching positions to work as a lens grinder, which eventually caused the illness that killed him.
Quick facts
Date of birth24 November 1632
Date of death21 February 1677
Age at death44
Cause of deathTuberculosis
NationalityDutch
BirthplaceAmsterdam, Netherlands
Occupationphilosopher, Bible translator, grinder of lenses
Editor's Take:
Spinoza was one of the boldest thinkers of the seventeenth century, so radical that his own Jewish community in Amsterdam expelled him when he was 23. He argued that God and nature are one and the same, rejecting the idea of a God who intervenes in human affairs. His Ethics sets out its arguments like a geometry textbook, with definitions, axioms and proofs. He was also an early champion of freedom of thought and religious tolerance. Thinkers from Einstein to modern philosophers have admired his calm, rational vision of the universe.
Key Milestones
1656: Expelled from Amsterdam's Jewish community
1663: Publishes his study of Descartes's philosophy
1670: Publishes the Theological-Political Treatise anonymously
1677: His Ethics appears after his death
Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin who was born and lived in the Dutch Republic.
Benedictus de Spinoza's birthday is November 24. He was born on November 24, 1632 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
How old was Benedictus de Spinoza when he died?
Benedictus de Spinoza died on February 21, 1677, aged 44.
Who shares a birthday with Benedictus de Spinoza?
Famous people who share Benedictus de Spinoza's November 24 birthday include Zachary Taylor, Dale Carnegie, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alexander Suvorov and Carlo Collodi.
