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Births on October 18

Heinrich von Kleist
1777Oct, 18

Heinrich von Kleist

Heinrich von Kleist, German author and poet (d. 1811)
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 1777 – 21 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays Das Käthchen von Heilbronn, The Broken Jug, Amphitryon and Penthesilea, and the novellas Michael Kohlhaas and The Marquise of O. Kleist died by suicide together with a close female friend who was terminally ill.

The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him, as was the Kleist Theater in his birthplace Frankfurt an der Oder.

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Events on 1777

  • 8Mar

    American Revolutionary War

    Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt.
  • 13Jun

    Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

    American Revolutionary War: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette lands near Charleston, South Carolina, in order to help the Continental Congress to train its army.
  • 31Jul

    Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

    The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States."
  • 19Sep

    First Battle of Saratoga

    American Revolutionary War: British forces win a tactically expensive victory over the Continental Army in the First Battle of Saratoga.
  • 27Sep

    Lancaster, Pennsylvania

    American Revolutionary War: Lancaster, Pennsylvania becomes the capital of the United States, for one day after the Second Continental Congress evacuates Philadelphia to avoid invading British forces.