January 1816

January 31 1816: Schubert’s Birthday

On January 31 1816, Beethoven is forty-five, Rossini is twenty-three, Verdi and Wagner are both two year old babies, and Franz Schubert, an accomplished student of Antonio Salieri, celebrates his nineteenth birthday.

January 30 1816: Calves’ Head day

Posted on February 1, 2016

“Calves’ Head day” John Cam Hobhouse writes in his diary for January 30 1816. Peter Cochran writes that this a radical celebration to mark the execution of Charles I on January 30 1649. The basis of this celebration is supposedly … Continue reading →

January 29 1816: Byron’s Forefathers

On January 29 1816, Lord Byron writes to Leigh Hunt, from 13 Piccadilly Terrace London. Dear Hunt – I return your extract with thanks for the perusal – & hope you are by this time on the verge of publication. … Continue reading →

January 28 1816: I Dare Not Feel Anything Now

On  January 28 1816, Lady Byron writes to Augusta Leigh, from Kirkby Mallory. Private. Jan. 28,

January 27 1816: Jefferson’s Bank-mania!

“With respect to the bank-mania, I foresaw it in 1791. and then opposed the establishment of the Bank of the US. which I knew was only an inoculation. I have marked the progress of the disease and seen that it was … Continue reading →

January 26 1816: A Second Thyrza

On January 26 1816, Miss Selina Doyle writes to her friend Lady Byron. Miss Doyle appears to refer to a Thyrza, as a previous love of Byron, who he idolized. Byron had “occasionally spoken of Thyrza to Lady Byron, at Seaham and afterwards … Continue reading →

January 25 1816: Priorities

On January 25 1816, a day after the birth of his son William, Percy Shelley writes to the child’s grandfather, William Godwin. Most of the letter is filled with various financial plans. The news about the birth of William comes … Continue reading →

January 24 1816: Birth of William Shelley

On January 24 1816, Mary Godwin, eleven months after her first ill-fated delivery, gives birth to William Shelley. He is named after his grandfather William Godwin. He will die in Rome on June 2 1819 from a cholera or typhoid … Continue reading →

January 23 1816: Byron’s Capricious Generosity

On January 23 1816,  Lord Byron is not well, writing to Samuel Rogers: “Dear Rogers – I am sorry to say that I cannot dine with you today: – I have not lately been very well – and am under sentence … Continue reading →

January 22 1816: A Very Unhappy Birthday

On January 22 1816, Lord Byron is in a foul mood on his 28th birthday. Augusta notes that Byron is “now cold and clinical, now savage and uncontrolled”. Before dinner, Byron announces that he is the greatest man alive, not excepting Napoleon … Continue reading →

January 21 1816: Hazlitt on A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Posted on January 23, 2016

“Poetry and the stage do not agree together. The attempt to reconcile them fails not only of effect, but of decorum. The ideal has no place upon the stage, which is a picture without perspective; everything there is in the foreground. That … Continue reading →

January 20 1816: Blue Devils

On January 20 1816, Lady Byron writes to Augusta Leigh, from Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire. She adds a touching postscript about nursing Ada: “I have been with my Augusta, and whilst I was nursing her, happened to sigh, whereupon she looked up … Continue reading →

January 19 1816: Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday

On January 19 1816, Edgar Allan Poe, an orphan since the age of two, is in London on his seventh birthday with this foster parents.

January 18 1816: Day of Thanksgiving

January 18 1816 was a day of Thanksgiving to celebrate peace in Europe and the victory at Waterloo. It also inspired William Wordsworth to later write his Thanksgiving Ode, January 18, 1816. This poem is notorious for its seeming reactionary politics, and … Continue reading →

January 17 1816: Byron Drunk, Again!

Rode to London. Dined at Tavistock  House, Tavistock Square, with Perry. A most noble library he has, and a most noble dinner he gave us. Present: Edward Ellice, Dennison, General Ferguson,  Lord Norton,  Lord Byron, Bennett. We had pleasant talk – General Ferguson … Continue reading →

January 16 1816: Dearest Duck

On January 16 1816, having left the previous day, Lady Byron writes to Byron, from Kirkby Mallory. She has been advised by doctors to write to Byron in a light vein given the concern  over his mental stability. Dearest Duck,―We … Continue reading →

January 15 1816: Lady Byron Departs

“Early next morning [ January 15 1816 ] she [Annabella] got ready to depart, taking the baby with her. The carriage was already at the door. On the way downstairs she passed Byron’s bedroom: “There was a large mat on … Continue reading →

January 14 1816: In Heaven I Hope

 “When shall we three meet again?” Byron asks Annabella and Augusta. “In Heaven I hope,” Annabella answers.* [cough]** —Piccadilly, London  January 14 1816. *Source: Byron: Life and Legend by Fiona MacCarthy **Source: Me

January 13 1816: Towering Rage

George Byron had moved out shortly after the birth, but on January 13 [1816] he called at Piccadilly Terrace to see the baby. While Annabella and Augusta received the visitor in the drawing room, Byron entered in a state of … Continue reading →

January 12 1816: Edmund Kean as Sir Giles Overreach

On January 12 1816, Edmund Kean gives his first performance as Sir Giles Overreach in Phillip Massinger’s play “A New Way to Pay Old Debts”, a comedy of 1633. It appears that the performance was a triumph. Byron may have … Continue reading →

 

January 11 1816: Alexander Hamilton’s Birthday (if he had lived)

On January 11 1816, Alexander Hamilton, born on January 11 1755 (possibly 57), would have been sixty-one (or fifty-nine) had Aaron Burr been killed.

January 10 1816: Bonaparte’s Carriage

On January 10 1816, Thomas Rowlandson’s satiric hand coloured print entitled “Exhibition at Bullock’s Museum of Bonaparte’s Carriage taken at Waterloo” is published by R .Ackermann.

January 9 1816: Jefferson’s Bible

On January 9 1816, Thomas Jefferson writes to Charles Thomson a very interesting letter where he describes the Bible that he has created, and how cold it is. Perhaps, the frigid temperatures are part of the global changes in the weather … Continue reading →

January 8 1816: A Fallen Angel

On January 8 1816, Dr. Baillie visits Lord Byron to assess his behaviour. He is doing so at the request of Annabella. Byron is not aware of the purpose for the visit. Annabella has confided to Dr. Baillie her concerns about Byron. … Continue reading →

January 7 1816: Shelley’s Finances

On January 7, 1816, Percy Shelley writes to William Godwin about his financial affairs. The poet demonstrates a very practical and detailed understanding of his finances.

January 6 1816: Disposed To Leave

On January 6 1816, Lord Byron, now desperate to escape his marriage, writes to Annabella suggesting, asking, almost demanding that she leave London. Byron cannot be explicit but for him the marriage is over. Annabella is shocked. She is convinced … Continue reading →

January 5 1816: —Heigh-ho!

On January 5 1816, Lord Byron writes to Thomas Moore. I hope Mrs. M[oore]. is quite re-established. The little girl was born on the 10th of December last; her name is Augusta Ada (the second a very antique family name,—I … Continue reading →

January 4 1816: Lady Byron to Lady Melbourne

On January 4 1815, Lady Byron writes to her aunt, and her husband’s confidante, Lady Melbourne.

January 3 1816: Concerns About Byron

On January 3 1816, Lord Byron’s half sister  Augusta Leigh writes to John Cam Hobhouse. She is worried about Byron’s marriage. In fact, Byron is acting horribly and is almost unhinged with rage. DEAR MR. HOBHOUSE, I am so afraid … Continue reading →

January 2 1816: A New Byron Poem

On January 2 1816, John Murray opens a letter from Lord Byron and finds a copy of a new poem, Parasina. The poem is a heart warming tale about a 15th century Duke of Ferrara who finds out that his second … Continue reading →