Rousseau's ideas helped light the fuse of the French Revolution, even though he died eleven years before it began. His famous opening line, 'Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains', challenged the idea that kings ruled by divine right. In The Social Contract he argued that legitimate government comes from the shared will of the people. His novel Emile changed thinking about education, urging that children learn through experience and nature rather than rote learning. His personal contradictions are well known, but his influence on democracy, education and Romanticism is enormous.
Key Milestones
1750: Wins an essay prize with the Discourse on the Arts and Sciences
1755: Publishes the Discourse on Inequality
1761: Publishes Julie
1762: Publishes The Social Contract and Emile
1762: Flees arrest
1782: Confessions published after his death
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (UK:, US:; French:; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosophe, writer, and composer.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's birthday is June 28. He was born on June 28, 1712 in Geneva, Switzerland.
How old was Jean-Jacques Rousseau when he died?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau died on July 2, 1778, aged 66.
Who shares a birthday with Jean-Jacques Rousseau?
Famous people who share Jean-Jacques Rousseau's June 28 birthday include Elon Musk, Peter Paul Rubens, Luigi Pirandello, Muhammad Yunus and Henry VIII of England.
