Birth of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau is born in Geneva to Isaac Rousseau and Suzanne Bernard.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Biography and Timeline
Follow Jean-Jacques Rousseau through 10 dated historical records for France.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
10Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1712–1778Years on this page
1712
1728
Departure from Geneva
Rousseau leaves Geneva and begins years of travel, patronage and irregular employment.
1742
Musical Notation Proposal
Rousseau presents a new system of musical notation to the Academy of Sciences.
1750
Discourse on the Sciences and Arts
Rousseau wins the Dijon Academy prize by arguing that progress can corrupt morals.
1752
The Village Soothsayer
Rousseau's opera The Village Soothsayer is performed before the French court.
1755
Discourse on Inequality
Rousseau publishes the Discourse on Inequality, tracing social domination and artificial inequality.
1761
Julie or the New Heloise
Rousseau publishes Julie, a novel exploring virtue, passion, education and social convention.
1762
Emile
Rousseau publishes Emile, presenting a theory of education based on natural development.
The Social Contract
Rousseau publishes The Social Contract, grounding legitimate sovereignty in the general will.
1778
Death of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau dies at Ermenonville, aged sixty-six.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.