1803
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1 January 1803 The Free City of Regensburg is assigned to the domains of Karl Theodor Anton Maria Baron von Dalberg, Prince-Archbishop and Elector of Regensburg.
6 January 1803 Heinrich Herz is born in Vienna. He will be better known under his French name, Henri.
13 January 1803 Ma tante Aurore, ou Le roman impromptu, an opéra comique by Adrien Boieldieu (27) to words of Longchamps, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
14 January 1803 The ballet Daphnis et Pandrose, including music by Dalvimare, Devienne, Duvernoy, Gluck, Haydn, Himmel, R. Kreutzer, Martini, Méhul, Miller and Winter, to a scenario by Gardel, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
22 January 1803 Ludwig van Beethoven (32) places an announcement in the Wiener Zeitung denouncing the publishing firm of Artaria and Mollo. They published his String Quartet op.29 in Vienna after Beethoven’s authorized publication by Breitkopf and Härtel in Leipzig. Artaria received the manuscript from the dedicatee, Count Moritz von Fries. See 14 February 1803.
28 January 1803 The French Republic formally establishes the Grand Prix de Rome in Musical Composition. The annual winners will receive a stipend for four years, the first two to be spent at the Villa Medici, Rome the third in Germany or Austria, the fourth in Rome or Paris. They will be expected to compose various works during this time. Illustrious composers who will win the Prix de Rome include Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Schmitt and Ibert.
29 January 1803 Ercole in Lidia, a dramma per musica by Simon Mayr (39) to words of de Gamerra, is performed for the first time, in the Burgtheater, Vienna.
7 February 1803 Colonel Edward Despard is tried before a special court in London and found guilty of high treason, despite the appearance of Admiral Nelson as a character witness.
9 February 1803 The remainder of the Despard conspirators are tried in London. Nine are found guilty of high treason.
11 February 1803 The Church lands of the Archbishop of Salzburg are created the Duchy of Salzburg.
12 February 1803 Publication of a Symphony in C B.154 by Ignaz Pleyel (45) is announced in the Correspondance des professeurs et amateurs de musique, Paris.
14 February 1803 Vienna publishers Artaria and Co. file a petition in the High Police Court, Vienna in an effort to force a retraction from Beethoven (32) of his published statement of 22 January. See 26 September 1803.
15 February 1803 Delphis et Mopsa, a comédie lyrique by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (62) to words of Guy, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra.
16 February 1803 The remaining lands of the Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg (Ettenheim) are annexed by Baden.
17 February 1803 In the case against Ludwig van Beethoven (32), Artaria files a subjoined declaration, signed by Count Moritz von Fries, that he allowed them to publish the String Quartet op.29 if they held off until after the Breitkopf and Härtel edition appears in Vienna.
19 February 1803 Napoléon issues the Act of Mediation abolishing the Helvetic Republic and reestablishing the Swiss Confederation.
21 February 1803 The Cape Colony returns from British to Dutch (Batavian Republic) rule.
Colonel Edward Despard and six others are executed in London for high treason. 20,000 people watch.
22 February 1803 The Bishopric of Passau is annexed to Salzburg.
24 February 1803 The United States Supreme Court asserts the right of Judicial Review, that is the right to overturn a law passed by the Congress and signed by the President, in judging the case of Marbury v. Madison.
25 February 1803 The Diet of Ratisbon reorganizes the Holy Roman Empire, the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss. Most ecclesiastical states and independent cities are abolished. Four new electorates are created.
1 March 1803 Héléna, an opéra by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul (39) to words of Bouilly, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris. It is fairly successful.
Ohio becomes the 17th state of the United States.
2 March 1803 Three Piano Sonatas with violin and cello accompaniment B.474-476 by Ignaz Pleyel (45) are entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
6 March 1803 The Bishopric of Brixen is annexed by Austria.
20 March 1803 Joseph Arnold replaces Wilhelm Joseph Alexander Duke von Looz-Corswarem as Prince of Rheina-Wolbeck.
British forces occupy St. Pierre and Miquelon again.
22 March 1803 German explorer Alexander von Humboldt and French botantist Aimé Bonpland arrive in Acapulco from Peru and Ecuador aboard the Pizarro. They will change the course of scientific research in Mexico.
27 March 1803 Napoléon institutes a single currency for France, the Franc Germinal.
Berg is annexed by Bavaria.
29 March 1803 Proserpine, a tragédie lyrique by Giovanni Paisiello (62) to words of Guillard after Quinault, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It is not well received.
4 April 1803 Bavaria annexes the Principality of Freising. The Duke of Oldenburg rules that the Bishopric of Lübeck is henceforth a principality. Prince-Bishop Peter Friedrich Ludwig Duke of Holstein-Gottorp takes on the title of Prince.
5 April 1803 Three new works by Ludwig van Beethoven (32) are performed for the first time, at the Theater-an-der-Wien, Vienna: the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives to words of Huber, the Symphony no.2 and the Third Piano Concerto, all on a program with the composer’s First Symphony. The composer is soloist in the concerto. Critics are mixed, but the concert is a great financial success. 7 April 1803 Toussaint L’Ouverture dies in the dungeon of Fort de Joux in the Jura, France.
14 April 1803 Three years after its founding, the Banque de France is granted its first official charter, giving it exclusive power to issue notes in Paris.
27 April 1803 Emperor Franz II gives assent to the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 25 February, a massive reorganization of the Empire. The number of imperial cities is reduced to six. Of the dozens of church states, only three remain. The Duke of Salzburg becomes an elector of the Empire. The Rhineland Palatinate is made part of Bavaria. Baden, Hesse-Kassel, and Württemberg become electorates. Larger German states are enriched at the expense of smaller ones.
29 April 1803 The Duchy of Württemberg is created an electorate. Duke Friedrich II adds the title of Prince-Elector.
2 May 1803 France sells Louisiana (the western drainage basin of the Mississippi River) to the United States for a price of $11,250,000 in bonds and $3,750,000 in indemnities to American citizens with claims against France. The treaty is antedated to 30 April.
8 May 1803 Karl Friedrich of Baden-Durlach is named Elector of Baden-Durlach.
15 May 1803 Landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel is created a Prince-Elector of the Empire. Hesse-Kassel becomes the Electorate of Hesse.
16 May 1803 Great Britain imposes an embargo on all French and Dutch ships in her ports.
18 May 1803 Hostilities are renewed between Great Britain and France because of French influence in Switzerland and Italy, and Britain’s refusal to part with Malta.
23 May 1803 Pierre-Antoine Daru, spokesman for First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte, tells the Tribunate of Napoléon’s intention to invade Great Britain.
24 May 1803 The Sonata for violin and piano op.47 dedicated to Rudolf Kreutzer by Ludwig van Beethoven (32) is performed for the first time, in Vienna, the composer at the keyboard.
27 May 1803 Four-year-old Carlo Ludovico II replaces Ludovico I as King of Etruria (Tuscany) under the regency of Maria Luisa.
28 May 1803 Publication of the violin sonatas op.30 and Bagatelles op.33 by Ludwig van Beethoven (32) is announced.
1 June 1803 France invades the Electorate of Hanover.
3 June 1803 Captain Henry Shrapnel demonstrates his spherical case projectiles to a committee of British artillery officers. They approve his invention for use by the army.
10 June 1803 France completes its occupation of Hanover.
18 June 1803 Le baiser et la quittance, ou Une aventure de garrison, an opéra-comique by Adrien Boieldieu (27), Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (39), Rodolphe Kreutzer and Nicolò Isouard, to words of Picard, Dieulafoy and Longchamps after Polier de Bottens, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris. It will fail in Paris but do better elsewhere.
22 June 1803 The French garrison on St. Lucia capitulates to invading British forces.
24 June 1803 Royal Assent is granted to the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act. It is the first criminalization of abortion in English law.
25 June 1803 The Batavian Republic (Netherlands) reluctantly agrees to the Franco-Batavian Convention. The country is forced into a full military alliance with France. They are required to provide warships and transports to ferry French troops.
30 June 1803 The free city of Dortmund is annexed by Nassau.
British troops capture the French island of Tobago.
13 July 1803 Shoja al-Molk Shah replaces Mahmud Shah as King of Afghanistan.
15 July 1803 Incidental music to Goethe’s play Clavigo by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (50) is performed for the first time, at the Nationaltheater, Berlin.
23 July 1803 Insurrection begins in Ireland led by Robert Emmet.
25 July 1803 Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden is created a prince-elector. The Margraviate of Baden becomes the Electorate of Baden.
27 July 1803 Muzio Clementi (51) arrives in Berlin from St. Petersburg.
Concerto for piano C.187 by Jan Ladislav Dussek (43) is entered at Stationers’ Hall, London.
30 July 1803 First Consul Napoléon Bonaparte announces the creation of a National Flotilla for the purpose of invading Britain.
3 August 1803 British forces begin an offensive against the Sindhia of Gwalior in India.
6 August 1803 Parisian piano maker Sebastien Erard sells a new grand piano to Ludwig van Beethoven (32). It will arrive in Vienna sometime in October. It has a wider range than most instruments currently available in Vienna.
9 August 1803 Robert Fulton exhibits the first prototype steamboat on the Seine in Paris.
11 August 1803 With the resumption of hostilities, the British Parliament reintroduces an income tax.
17 August 1803 Publication of the Piano Trio op.12 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (24) is advertised in the Wiener Zeitung.
19 August 1803 Sweden leases the City of Wismar to the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin while retaining sovereignty.
20 August 1803 Simon Mayr’s (40) melodramma giocoso Le finte rivali to words of Romanelli is performed for the first time, in Milan.
25 August 1803 Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, visconde de Balsemão replaces João de Almeida Melo e Castro as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
3 September 1803 Afraid of being massacred by the black army besieging them, the French garrison of Saint Marc (Haiti) surrenders to the Royal Navy off shore.
6 September 1803 English scientist John Dalton first records in his notebook drawings of the relative weights of atoms.
19 September 1803 Irish leader Robert Emmet, convicted of treason by the British, is executed in Dublin.
20 September 1803 The Dutch colony of Demerara (Guyana) surrender to the Royal Navy.
23 September 1803 British and Indian troops defeat forces of Sindhia Maratha at Assaye.
26 September 1803 In the matter of Artaria and Beethoven (32), the High Police Court of Vienna rules for Artaria. Beethoven is ordered to publish a retraction. See 22 January 1803 and 4 December 1803.
1 October 1803 Publication of the Variations for piano and flute op.14 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (24) is announced in the Wiener Zeitung.
4 October 1803 Three sacred works by Michael Haydn (66) are performed for the first time, for the Empress of Austria in the Hofburg Kapelle, Vienna: Missa subtitulo San Francesci Seraphici and settings of Cantate and Domine Deus.
Anacréon, ou L’amour fugitif, an opera-ballet by Luigi Cherubini (43) to words of Mendouze, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. It receives five performances and is not performed again.
14 October 1803 Duke Ercole III of Modena, Reggio and Ferrara dies and is succeeded by his son-in-law Ferdinando, the son of Emperor Franz II.
16 October 1803 Ferdinand Karl Erzherzog von Österreich-Este replaces Ercole d’Este, Duke of Modena as Duke of Modena-Bresigau.
17 October 1803 The eighth Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Redistribution of seats after the 1800 census greatly aids the Republicans. They hold 103 seats in the House of Representatives to 39 for the Federalists. In the Senate they hold 25 of 34 seats.
19 October 1803 A convention is signed by France and Spain calling for the neutrality of Spain.
21 October 1803 English chemist John Dalton reads his paper On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. At the end, he describes his atomic theory: all matter is made up of atoms and that atoms of different elements have different masses. He proposes atomic weights for 21 elements.
31 October 1803 Paris newspapers announce the arrival of Adrien Boieldieu (27) in St. Petersburg. The acutal event occured sometime during the last two months.
The USS Philadelphia is captured by Tripoli and its crew imprisoned.
18 November 1803 Haitian forces defeat the French at Vertieres.
30 November 1803 In a ceremony at New Orleans, Spain officially hands over Louisiana to France.
4 December 1803 Ludwig van Beethoven (32) is brought to court because he has not yet published his retraction, as required by the court finding of 26 September. In fact, he never will. See 31 March 1804.
5 December 1803 João Rodrigues de Sá, visconde de Anadia replaces Luís Pinto de Sousa Coutinho, visconde de Balsemão as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
8 December 1803 Elbondocani, a singspiel by Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (†1) to words of Haug, is performed for the first time, in Stuttgart.
11 December 1803 Louis-Hector Berlioz is born at La Côte-St.-André, 48 km northwest of Grenoble in the Department of Isere, the first of six children born to Louis-Joseph Berlioz, a physician and Marie-Antoinette-Joséphine Marmion, daughter of a Grenoble lawyer.
13 December 1803 Les sabots et le cerisier, an opéra by François-Joseph Gossec (69) to words of Sedaine and Cazotte, is performed for the first time, in Paris.
17 December 1803 The foreign slave trade is resumed after a hiatus of 16 years. Over the next four years, 40,000 slaves will be imported into the United States.
19 December 1803 Great Britain and Portugal enter into a secret agreement. If Britain and France go to war, Portugal pledges to remain neutral.
20 December 1803 The United States takes title to the Louisiana Purchase, some 2,000,000 sq km which will almost double the land area of the country.
24 December 1803 Three-year-old Bernhard II replaces Georg I as Duke of Saxe-Meiningen under regency.
The Boston Columbian Centinel advertises the publication of Andrew Law’s (54) Art of Singing.
26 December 1803 11:00 Franz Joseph Haydn (71) makes his last appearance as conductor, directing his The Seven Last Words in the Redoutensaal, Vienna.
Alonso e Cora, a dramma per musica by Simon Mayr (40) to words of Bernardoni after Marmontel, is performed for the first time, at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
29 December 1803 L’heureux malgré lui, an opéra-bouffon by Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (40) to words of Saint-Just, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris. This is the one and only performance.
30 December 1803 Daulatrao Scindia of Gwalior signs the Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon, submitting to British rule.
31 December 1803 Gaspare Spontini (29) makes his debut at the Théâtre-Italien de Paris.
The Middlesex Canal, linking northern New England with Boston, is completed.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
6 June 2012
Last Updated (Wednesday, 06 June 2012 04:46)