Born: 3 May 1469 · Died: 21 June 1527 · Age at death: 58
How old was Niccolò Machiavelli when he died?
Niccolò Machiavelli died aged 58. He was born on 3 May 1469 and died on 21 June 1527.
Florentine diplomat and political thinker whose book The Prince offered blunt advice on gaining and keeping power
Did you know?His surname became a synonym for cunning and deceit, even though he wrote his famous treatise while living in exile.
Quick facts
Date of birth3 May 1469
Date of death21 June 1527
Age at death58
Cause of deathPeritonitis
NationalityFlorentine
BirthplaceFlorence, Italy
Occupationwriter, politician, historian
Editor's Take:
Machiavelli is one of history's most misunderstood writers. The Prince, his short handbook on gaining and keeping power, is famous for advising rulers that it can be safer to be feared than loved. Yet he also wrote a longer work praising republics and the participation of citizens in government. As a diplomat for Florence, he had watched leaders like Cesare Borgia operate up close, so his advice came from experience rather than theory. By describing politics as it actually worked, rather than as it should, he is often seen as the founder of modern political science.
Key Milestones
1498: Becomes secretary of the Florentine republic
1500: Serves on a diplomatic mission to France
1512: Loses office when the Medici return
1513: Imprisoned and tortured, then writes The Prince
1520: Writes The Art of War
1532: The Prince is published
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, political philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance.
