1825
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3 January 1825 Scottish utopian Robert Owen purchases New Harmony, Indiana from the Harmonie Society.
4 January 1825 King Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son Francesco I.
13 January 1825 Die Forelle, a song by Franz Schubert (27) to words of Schubart, is published by Diabelli, Vienna as his op.32. See 9 December 1820.
15 January 1825 José Joaquim de Almeida e Araújo Correia de Lacerda replaces Pedro de Sousa Holstein, marques e conde de Palmela as Secretary of State (prime minister) of Portugal.
19 January 1825 Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kennett of New York City receive the first US patent for a canning process.
22 January 1825 The parents of Clara Wieck (5) are granted a divorce.
25 January 1825 The Bolshoy Theatre opens in Moscow.
3 February 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) song Der Blumen Schmerz D.731 to words of Mayláth is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
7 February 1825 General Sucre’s rebel army reaches La Paz (Bolivia).
9 February 1825 The United States House of Representatives decides the hung election of 1824 by choosing John Quincy Adams as president on the first ballot, over Andrew Jackson and William Crawford. Adams won largely through the efforts of Speaker of the House Henry Clay.
11 February 1825 With the death of Duke Friedrich IV, the ruling house of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha comes to an end.
Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Mayrhofer are published by Cappi, Vienna as his op.36: Der zürnenden Diana and Nachstück.
12 February 1825 The United States concludes a treaty with the Creek Indians at Indian Springs, Georgia. Creek leaders agree to remove themselves west of the Mississippi. Most Creeks will repudiate the treaty.
14 February 1825 President-elect John Quincy Adams appoints Henry Clay as Secretary of State. This is widely seen as payback for his support on 9 February.
18 February 1825 The Mendelssohn family purchases a new mansion in Berlin, at 3 Leipzigerstrasse. It will become a meeting place for the Mendelssohn circle, including Heinrich Heine, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Alexander von Humboldt.
21 February 1825 British astronomer George Biddell Airy reads a paper before the Cambridge Philosophical Society wherein he first describes astigmatism (a condition from which he suffers) and the lenses he has designed to correct the problem. He will not use the word astigmatism until later.
22 February 1825 Der Holzdieb, a singspiel by Heinrich August Marschner (29) to words of Kind, is performed for the first time, in Dresden Hoftheater. It is very successful.
23 February 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer (33) returns to Paris from his Italian sojourn. He is there to produce his first opera in the city, Il Crociato in Egitto. See 7 March 1824.
24 February 1825 Dr. Berlioz, after hearing of the fiasco of last 27 December, severs the allowance of his son Hector. This is the beginning of Hector Berlioz’ (21) financial troubles which will continue through the 1830s.
25 February 1825 English explorer William Moorcroft reaches Bokhara (Buxoro, Uzbekistan).
Several thousand Egyptian troops land at Methoni on the southwest corner of the Peloponnesus.
Franz Schubert’s (28) song Der zürnenden Diana D.707 to words of Mayrhofer is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
28 February 1825 Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Schiller are published by Cappi, Vienna as his op.37: Der Pilgrim and Der Alpenjäger.
A treaty between the United Kingdom and Russia sets their boundary in North America.
3 March 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) song Die junge Nonne D.828 to words of Craigher de Jachelutta is performed for the first time, in the Vienna home of the singer, Sophie Müller. See 28 December 1826.
4 March 1825 John Quincy Adams replaces James Monroe as President of the United States.
6 March 1825 String Quartet op.127 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed for the first time, in Vienna. It is not a success.
I voti dei sudditi, an azione pastorale by Gaetano Donizetti (27) to words of Schmidt, is performed for the first time, in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.
7 March 1825 The University of Virginia, its buildings and curriculum designed by Thomas Jefferson, opens to students. The buildings will be completed next year.
John Poinsett is appointed as the first US minister to Mexico.
12 March 1825 Der Einsame D.800, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Lappe, is published in the Zeitschrift für Kunst, Vienna.
15 March 1825 Gaetano Donizetti (27) is engaged as maestro di cappella at Teatro Carolino in Palermo.
18 March 1825 The Senate of the University of Cambridge votes to grant Samuel Wesley (59) the right to publish any part of the collection of manuscripts bequeathed to it by Lord Fitzwilliam in 1816. He must do it at his own expense and risk.
20 March 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) vocal quartet Flucht D.825 to words of Lappe is performed for the first time, in the Landhaussaal, Vienna.
22 March 1825 Abraham and Felix Mendelssohn (16) arrive in Paris to accompany Abraham’s sister Henriette back to Berlin. While in Paris, Felix will come in contact with and perform for many of the composers and virtuosos of the city including Hummel (46), Auber (43), Kalkbrenner (39), Rossini (33), Halévy (25), Liszt (13) and Kreutzer.
24 March 1825 Mexico allows immigration from the US into the State of Texco-Coahuila.
Der Berggeist, an opera by Louis Spohr (40) to words of Döring, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater as part of celebrations surrounding the marriage of the daughter of Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel to Duke Bernhard Erich of Saxe-Meiningen.
31 March 1825 Felix Mendelssohn (16) participates in a performance in Paris of Mozart's (†33) Requiem as a violinist. Here he meets Luigi Cherubini (64) for a second time.
1 April 1825 Felix Mendelssohn (16) hears Franz Liszt (13) for the first time, at a Concert Spirituel at the Académie Royale, Paris.
8 April 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the first of his Friday concerts on his current stay in Paris.
10 April 1825 Der Alpenjäger D.588, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Schiller, is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
15 April 1825 A new French law makes the crime of sacrilege a capital offense.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the second of his concerts on his current stay in Paris.
19 April 1825 33 Uruguayans under Juan Antonio Lavelleja sail from San Isidro, Argentina to Rincón de La Agraciada to foment revolt against Brazil.
22 April 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the third of his concerts on his current stay in Paris.
25 April 1825 An Egyptian army lands at the southern tip of the Peloponnesus to aid Sultan Mahmut II in putting down the Greek rebellion.
27 April 1825 A new French law compensates nobles for losses during the French Revolution.
29 April 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives the fourth of his Friday concerts on his current stay in Paris. They are a great success.
2 May 1825 Samuel Wesley (59) is arrested for failure to pay £25 maintenance to his estranged wife. He will be released on 7 May.
3 May 1825 Le maçon, an opéra comique by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (43) to words of Scribe and Delavigne, is performed for the first time, in Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
4 May 1825 The opera season opens tonight in Palermo under its new director, Gaetano Donizetti (27). The orchestra plays so badly that Donizetti is called to account by the Superintendant of Public Spectacles.
6 May 1825 Challenged by Luigi Cherubini (64) to compose a Kyrie for chorus, Felix Mendelssohn (16) produces a Kyrie in d minor.
7 May 1825 08:00 Antonio Salieri dies in Vienna, aged 74 years, eight months and 19 days.
9 May 1825 Der Liedler, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Kenner, is published by Cappi, Vienna as his op.38.
10 May 1825 The earthly remains of Antonio Salieri are laid to rest in Matzleinsdorf Cemetery, Vienna attended by all court musicians and many other musical figures. (not Beethoven (54) who has moved to Baden for his health)
13 May 1825 Tsar Alyeksandr I, in Warsaw to open the Polish Diet, hears Fryderyk Chopin (15) perform on the aeromelodicon. The monarch gives the boy a diamond ring.
King João VI of Portugal concedes the exercise of power in Brazil to his son Pedro.
17 May 1825 The British House of Lords defeats a Roman Catholic Relief Bill which has passed the House of Commons. It would have given parliamentary rights to Roman Catholics.
21 May 1825 Le lapin blanc, an opéra comique by Ferdinand Hérold (34) to words of Mélesville and Carmouche, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris.
23 May 1825 Gaspare Spontini’s (50) zauberoper Alcidor to words of Théaulon de Lambert after Rochon de Chabannes translated by Herklotz, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) gives his farewell concert to Paris, at the Salle du Menus-Plaisirs.
29 May 1825 A Mass in A by Luigi Cherubini (64) is performed for the first time, for the coronation of King Charles X in Rheims. This is the first coronation of a French king since 1775.
2 June 1825 The Law Society is founded to raise the professional standards and practices of the legal profession in Britain.
Rondo in c minor op.1 becomes the first work of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (15) to be commercially published, courtesy of Brzezina & Co.
5 June 1825 The two nurses who attended Antonio Salieri (†0) reassert their claim that since the winter of 1823, at no time did their patient confess to killing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†32).
6 June 1825 Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl reach Gmunden for a stay of six weeks. Here he will work on the Great C Major symphony.
Three songs by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe are published by Diabelli, Vienna as his op.19: An Schwager Kronos, An Mignon, and Ganymed.
Kamehameha III, age eleven, becomes King of Hawaii, succeeding his brother, Kamehameha II.
9 June 1825 Suleika II D.717, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is performed for the first time, in the Jagor’schersaal, Berlin. Other Schubert songs are performed, all to great success.
10 June 1825 Fryderyk Chopin (15) plays at a charity concert in Warsaw where he engages in lengthy improvisations. A critic for the Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung is present. His review marks the first time that Chopin’s fame travels outside of Poland.
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) is given honorary membership in the Société de Musique, Geneva.
Pharamond, an opéra by Adrien Boieldieu (49), Henri-Montan Berton and Rodolphe Kreutzer to words of Ancelot, Guiraud and Soumet, is performed for the first time, in the Académie Royale de Musique, Paris. The work is presented for the coronation of Charles X.
13 June 1825 President John Quincy Adams is almost drowned while crossing the Potomac in a canoe. The canoe capsizes in a stiff wind.
16 June 1825 In Weimar, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe receives two packages from composers. One includes piano quartets from Felix Mendelssohn (16). The other contains some songs to Goethe poems from Franz Schubert (28). Goethe will write a long letter of thanks to Mendelssohn. He will not respond to Schubert. It is the one and only time that Schubert makes a personal approach to Goethe.
19 June 1825 Il viaggio a Reims, ossia L’albergo del giglio d’oro, a dramma giocoso by Gioachino Rossini (33) to words of Balocchi after de Staël, is performed for the first time, at the Théâtre-Italien, Paris. The work is performed during coronation festivities for Charles X who attends but is bored.
20 June 1825 In his second Birmingham concert, Franz Liszt (13) presents an overture, probably the overture to his unperformed opera Don Sanche.
22 June 1825 An Act to Regulate Cotton Mills and Factories is passed by the British Parliament. All workers under 16 are prohibited from working more than twelve hours per day.
30 June 1825 Carl Friedrich Zelter oversees the laying of the cornerstone of the new Berlin Singakademie.
On her second visit to London, Maria Szymanowska (35) gives a concert before the royal family.
5 July 1825 The Bubble Act, which proscribes joint stock companies unless they have a royal charter, is repealed.
10 July 1825 Messe solennelle by Hector Berlioz (21) is performed for the first time, in the Church of St. Roch. In spite of the fiasco of last 27 December, the work is a great success.
15 July 1825 Carl Maria von Weber (38) arrives in Bad Ems, near Koblenz, to take the cure. His tuberculosis continues to get worse.
23 July 1825 The singer Antonia Bianchi gives birth to a son of Nicolò Paganini (42) in Palermo: Achilles Cyrus Alexander. They have been having a personal and professional relationship for two years.
25 July 1825 Two songs by Franz Schubert (28) are published by Pennauer as his op.43: Die junge Nonne to words of Craigher, and Nacht und Träume to words of von Collin.
1 August 1825 At Fort Niagara, New York, US Army doctor William Beaumont begins experiments on French Canadian Alexis St. Martin on the nature of digestion. St. Martin was shot in the abdomen in 1822 and the wound never closed. Beaumont is the first person to clinically observe digestion as it is happening. He will publish his observations in 1833.
6 August 1825 Bolivia declares itself independent of Peru at a congress in Chuquisaca.
10 August 1825 Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl reach Salzburg from Steyr.
12 August 1825 The second setting of Suleika, a song by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Goethe, is published by Pennauer as his op.31.
14 August 1825 Gaetano Donizetti’s (27) Cantata for the King’s Birthday is performed for the first time, in Palermo.
Franz Schubert (28) and Johann Vogl travel from Salzburg to Bad Gastein. Here he will work further on the Great C Major symphony and compose the Piano Sonata D.850.
24 August 1825 Die Wiener in Berlin, a liederspiel by Heinrich August Marschner (30) to words of von Holtei, is performed for the first time, in Dresden.
25 August 1825 The wire cable suspension bridge, designed by Marc Seguin, opens over the Rhône at Tournon.
Uruguay declares itself independent of Brazil and declares its union with the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.
27 August 1825 English explorer William Moorcroft dies of fever in Andkhvoy, Afghanistan.
29 August 1825 Brazil agrees to a proposed treaty between itself and Portugal recognizing the independence of Brazil.
30 August 1825 Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) is given honorary membership in the Société Academique des Enfants d’Apollon in Paris.
2 September 1825 At a dinner party at the residence of Ludwig van Beethoven (54) in Baden, the composer writes a canon for Friedrich Kuhlau on the BACH theme, Kühl, nicht lau WoO191.
8 September 1825 Franz Schubert’s (28) Erstes Offertorium D.136 for vocal soloist, clarinet, orchestra and organ, Zweites Offertorium D.223 for soprano, orchestra and organ, and a setting of Tantum ergo D.739 for chorus, orchestra and organ, are all performed for the first time, in the Maria-Trost-Kirche, Vienna.
9 September 1825 String Quartet op.132 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed for the first time, privately, in Vienna. See 6 November 1825.
12 September 1825 André-Marie Ampère reads his most celebrated work, Memoir on a new electrodynamic experience, about its application to a formula that gives the mutual action between two Voltaic conductors and about the new consequences deduced from this formula to the French Royal Academy of Sciences.
19 September 1825 After 13 years of direct Habsburg rule, the Hungarian Diet reopens in Pressburg (Bratislava).
25 September 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer’s (34) Il Crociato in Egitto opens in Paris to spectacular success. King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia arrives in the city today and will see the second performance. It was the idea of Gioacchino Rossini (32) to stage this opera and he invites Meyerbeer to direct the last rehearsals. This reaffirms their friendship, in existence since 1819. See 7 March 1824.
27 September 1825 The Stockton and Darlington Railroad opens in Great Britain. This is the first railroad system to employ steam locomotion. Today, George Stephenson’s Locomotion no.1 pulls 38 cars carrying 450 people 40 km from Shildon to Darlington.
9 October 1825 After seeing Il Crociato in Egitto in Paris, King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia formally invites Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) to compose an opera for Berlin. He will decline.
10 October 1825 Dmitri Stepanovich Bortnyansky dies in St. Petersburg, aged approximately 74 years.
12 October 1825 Uruguayan rebels defeat Brazilians at Sarandí. Over half of the Brazilians are killed.
13 October 1825 King Maximilian I of Bavaria dies in Munich and is succeeded by his son Ludwig I.
A Kyrie in d minor for chorus and orchestra by Felix Mendelssohn (16) is performed for the first time, in Berlin.
15 October 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven (54) moves into his last residence, the Schwarzspanierhaus in Vienna.
17 October 1825 Don Sanche, ou Le Château d’amour, an opéra by Franz Liszt (13) and his composition teacher Ferdinando Paer to words of Théaulon and de Rancé after Claris de Florian, is performed for the first time, at the Paris Opéra. While everyone finds it remarkable that this is the work of a 13-year-old, the opera ultimately fails. It will be withdrawn after four performances.
24 October 1825 Pedro Alcantara Alvarez de Toledo y Salm-Salm, Duque de Infantado replaces Luis María de Salazar y Salazar as First Secretary of State of Spain.
25 October 1825 Johann Baptist Strauss is born in Vienna, the eldest of six children born to Johann Strauss, Sr., composer, conductor and violinist, and Maria Anna Streim, daughter of an innkeeper. This blessing comes less than four months after the couple are married.
26 October 1825 The first boat, Seneca Chief, leaves Buffalo to traverse the Erie Canal. It is the largest canal in the world.
4 November 1825 The first boat to traverse the Erie Canal reaches New York. The Great Lakes are now connected to the Atlantic.
6 November 1825 String Quartet op.132 by Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is performed publicly for the first time, in Vienna. See 9 September 1825.
7 November 1825 Feierlichster Tag, for chorus by Johann Nepomuk Hummel (46) to words of Riemer, is performed for the first time, in Weimar as part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Goethe’s service to the Weimar court.
9 November 1825 Inventor Thomas Drummond heats a small ball of lime in front of a reflector on Slieve Snaght, Scotland. It is seen on Divis Mountain 100 km away. This is the first practical demonstration of limelight.
12 November 1825 A few days after receiving the treaty of 29 August from Brazil, King João VI of Portugal recognizes the independence of Brazil.
17 November 1825 Der Gondelfahrer D.809, a vocal quartet by Franz Schubert (28) to words of Mayrhofer, is performed for the first time, in the Vienna Musikverein.
18 November 1825 The garrison of San Juán de Ulúa, Veracruz surrenders to Mexican forces. They were the last Spanish troops to resist Mexican independence.
19 November 1825 Jan Václav Vorísek dies of tuberculosis in Vienna, aged 34 years, six months and eight days. His earthly remains will be interred in Währing Cemetery (Franz Schubert Park).
22 November 1825 Die letzten Dinge, an oratorio by Louis Spohr (41) to words of Rochlitz, is performed for the first time, in Kassel, directed by the composer with piano accompaniment.
28 November 1825 Giacomo Meyerbeer (34) becomes engaged to his cousin Minna Mosson.
The last royalist opposition to Mexican independence ends when the garrison of San Juán de Ulúa, Veracruz surrenders. They will be transported to Cuba.
29 November 1825 Ludwig van Beethoven (54) is elected an honorary member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna.
Gioachino Rossini’s (33) Il Barbiere di Siviglia is staged in Park Theatre, New York. It is the first staging in the United States of an Italian opera in Italian.
1 December 1825 Tsar Alyeksandr I of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, King of Poland dies (or so it is said) in Taganrog and is succeeded by his younger brother, Nikolai.
3 December 1825 Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) is separated from New South Wales.
5 December 1825 The Nineteenth Congress of the United States convenes in Washington. Supporters of President John Quincy Adams hold just over half the seats in the House of Representatives while General Andrew Jackson’s men hold a similar margin in the Senate.
9 December 1825 The Times of London announces the failure of Wentworth, Chalmer & Co., an important financial concern.
10 December 1825 La dame blanche, an opéra comique by Adrien Boieldieu (49) to words of Scribe after Scott, is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris. It is very successful.
Brazil declares war on Argentina over Uruguay.
12 December 1825 Eugenie Franziska Jaeggi Marschner, second wife of Heinrich August Marschner (30), dies in Dresden of unknown causes.
The London bank of Pole, Thornton, & Co. fails, bringing down 43 country banks.
16 December 1825 The British cabinet decides to try to find as much gold as possible to back up the paper currency. The House of Rothschild delivers £300,000 in gold to keep the Bank of England afloat.
17 December 1825 About 700 important members of the City of London meet and declare their confidence in the banking and financial system. This calms most of the immediate panic. But the crisis creates the first worldwide depression.
Alpheus Babcock of Boston receives a US patent for “the frame, to which the strings of the piano forte are attached, of cast iron, wrought-iron, brass composition metal, or some other metal, or compound of metals, suitable for this purpose.”
21 December 1825 The tower of Fonthill Abbey collapses for the last time. A large Gothic Revival structure, it was built by William Thomas Beckford in Wiltshire with inferior materials and has seen several collapses already. Beckford sold the building in 1823.
26 December 1825 Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (21) and two friends go to the palace in St. Petersburg to witness the appearance of the new Tsar at about 11:30. They stay for a while and then leave to get something to eat. Not long thereafter, they hear gunfire.
As troops parade in St. Petersburg to take the oath of allegiance to the new Tsar, an organized revolt takes place in the ranks led by liberal officers opposed to the succession of Nikolai. With the life of the Tsar apparently in danger, loyal troops fire artillery upon the mutineers. Many soldiers and bystanders are killed. In the trials which will follow, five leaders will be sentenced to quartering, 31 decapitated and 85 banished to hard labor in Siberia. When foot soldiers who marched before the palace crying “Konstantin i Konstituta” (in favor of the Tsar’s more liberal brother Konstantin and a constitution) were asked to explain their actions, they testified that they thought they were honoring the Tsar’s brother Konstantin and his wife, Konstituta. The mutineers will be beatified by later Russian revolutionaries as The Decemberists.
29 December 1825 Jacques-Louis David dies in Brussels at the age of 77.
30 December 1825 A Kyrie in c minor for solo voices and double chorus by Felix Mendelssohn (16) is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt.
©2004-2012 Paul Scharfenberger
8 July 2012
Last Updated (Sunday, 08 July 2012 04:53)