Born: 25 May 1803 · Died: 27 April 1882 · Age at death: 78
How old was Ralph Waldo Emerson when he died?
Ralph Waldo Emerson died aged 78. He was born on 25 May 1803 and died on 27 April 1882.
American essayist and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement and wrote the influential essay Self-Reliance
Did you know?He was a mentor and close friend to Henry David Thoreau, even allowing him to build a cabin on his land.
Quick facts
Date of birth25 May 1803
Date of death27 April 1882
Age at death78
Cause of deathPneumonia
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceBoston, United States
Occupationphilosopher, poet, writer
Editor's Take:
Ralph Waldo Emerson was the leading voice of American Transcendentalism. A former Unitarian minister, he left the pulpit to lecture and write. His essay Nature argued that God can be found directly in the natural world. Self-Reliance urged readers to trust their own minds rather than tradition. He encouraged a distinctly American literature, free of European models. He mentored Henry David Thoreau and praised the young Walt Whitman. His essays are still quoted for their bold, compressed wisdom.
Key Milestones
1832: Leaves ministry – turns to writing
1836: Nature – founding essay
1837: The American Scholar – famous address
1841: Self-Reliance – essay
Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.
