Born: 28 October 1466 · Died: 12 July 1536 · Age at death: 69
How old was Erasmus when he died?
Erasmus died aged 69. He was born on 28 October 1466 and died on 12 July 1536.
Dutch Renaissance humanist and scholar who wrote The Praise of Folly and published a new Greek edition of the New Testament
Did you know?He was a prolific letter writer who corresponded with hundreds of the most influential thinkers and leaders across Europe.
Quick facts
Date of birth28 October 1466
Date of death12 July 1536
Age at death69
Cause of deathDysentery
NationalityDutch
BirthplaceRotterdam, Netherlands
Occupationtranslator, philosopher, theologian
Editor's Take:
Erasmus was the great European intellectual of his day, a scholar who belonged to no single country. He used wit and learning to criticise corruption in the church, most famously in The Praise of Folly. His new edition of the Greek New Testament transformed biblical study. He hoped for reform without violent division, and was caught between both sides of the Reformation. His name lives on in the EU's student exchange scheme.
Key Milestones
1500: Adagia – collection of proverbs
1509: The Praise of Folly – satirical classic
1516: New Testament – Greek edition
1524: Free will – debates Luther
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( DEZ-i-DEER-ee-əs irr-AZ-məs; Dutch:; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch humanist, theologian, and philosopher.
