Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Famous People Born in 1766

  • Jan 10 Louis Massonneau, German composer, born in Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1848)
  • Jan 25 Hans Christoph Ernst von Gagern, German statesman & political writer, born in Kleinniedesheim, Germany (d. 1852)

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)

Feb 13 British economist and demographer (Law of Malthus), born in Guildford, England

  • Feb 24 Samuel Wesley, British organist and composer referred to as "The English Mozart" (Exultate Deo), born in Bristol, England (d. 1837)
  • Mar 28 Joseph Weigl, German-Austrian composer (La Principessa d’Amalfi; Emmeline), and conductor, born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, Austrian Empire (d. 1846)
  • Apr 15 Friedrich Bouterwek, German philosopher and critic, born in Oker, Hanover, Germany (d. 1828)
  • Apr 22 Madame de Staël [Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein], French-Swiss author (De l’Allemagne), born in Paris (d. 1817)
  • Apr 24 Robert Bailey Thomas, American journalist and founder (The Farmer's Almanac), born in Grafton, Massachusetts (d. 1846)
  • Jun 19 Edmund Weber, German composer, born in Hildesheim, Duchy of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire (d. 1828)
  • Jun 19 Edward Tiffin, British-American land surveyor, and politician (1st Governor of Ohio, 1803-07; US Senator from Ohio, 1807-09), born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England (d. 1829)
  • Jun 21 Emanuel count de las Cases, French historian (recorded last conversations of Napoleon on St Helena), born in Revel, France (d. 1842)
  • Jul 6 Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American ornithologist and naturalist, born in Paisley, Scotland (d. 1813)
  • Jul 8 Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon under Napoleon, first modern military surgeon, born in Beaudéan, Pyrenees (d. 1842)
  • Jul 9 Jacob Perkins, American inventor (father of the refrigerator), born in Newburyport, Massachusetts (d. 1849)
  • Jul 9 Johanna Schopenhauer, German writer and mother of Arthur Schopenhauer, born in Gdańsk, Royal Prussia, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (d. 1838)
  • Jul 18 Friedrich Fleischmann, German composer, born in Marktheidenfeld, Germany (d. 1798)
  • Jul 20 Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin & Kincardine, British diplomat, born in Broomhall, Fife, Scotland (d. 1841)
  • Aug 1 Ignaz Anton Franz Xaver Ladurner, Austrian pianist and composer, born in Aldino, County of Tyrol ,Holy Roman Empire (now Italy) (d. 1839)
  • Aug 1 Jeffry Wyatville, English architect and garden designer (alterations and extensions to Chatsworth House and Windsor Castle), born in Burton upon Trent, England (d. 1840)
  • Aug 6 William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (famous for discovering the chemical elements palladium and rhodium), born in East Dereham, Norfolk, England (d. 1828)
  • Aug 22 Joseph-Denis Doche, French composer, born in Paris (d. 1825)
  • Sep 2 James Forten, African-American abolitionist and businessman who used his wealth to push for civil rights and the abolition of slavery, born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania, British America (d. 1842)

John Dalton (1766-1844)

Sep 6 English physicist and chemist who developed the atomic theory of matter and researched colour blindness, born in Eaglesfield, England

  • Sep 13 Samuel Wilson, American meat packer and possible namesake of Uncle Sam, born in Menotomy, Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1854)
  • Sep 25 Armand-Emmanuel, Duc de Richelieu, Prime Minister of France (1815-18, 1820-21), born in Paris (d. 1822)
  • Oct 9 Bedrich Divis Weber, Bohemian composer and musicologist, born in Velichov, Czech Republic (d. 1842)
  • Oct 23 Emmanuel, marquis de Grouchy, French general and marshal, born in Paris (d. 1847)
  • Nov 2 Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Czech field marshal, born in Sedlčany, Czech Republic (d. 1858)
  • Nov 16 Rodolphe Kreutzer, French composer (La mort d'Abel) and virtuoso violinist, born in Versailles, France (d. 1831)
  • Nov 20 John Wall Calcott, English composer, born in Kensington, London (d. 1821)
  • Nov 24 Friedrich Weinbrenner, German architect, born in Karlsruhe (d. 1826)
  • Dec 1 Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, Russian writer (d. 1826)