German philosopher and critic (died 1940)

Walter Benjamin

Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin was a German philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western Marxism, and post-Kantianism, he made contributions to the philosophy of history, metaphysics, historical materialism, criticism, and aesthetics, and had an oblique but overwhelmingly influential impact on the resurrection of the Kabbalah by virtue of his life-long epistolary relationship with Gershom Scholem.

Born

1892

July 15

Died

1940

Era

1890s

Country

—

About

Walter, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1892 Born
1940 Died

Also on July 15

What else happened on this day, through history

-484 Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome.
70 First Jewish–Roman War: Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
756 An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor's family killed.
1099 First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.

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The world in 1940

When Walter departed

april 14 World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, preceding a larger force which will arrive two days later.
april 23 The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
april 7 Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
april 8 The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as de facto leader of Mongolia.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on July 15

Aníbal Cavaco Silva 1939– Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic Ashoke Sen 1956– Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist Brenda Milner 1918– English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic David Miliband 1965– English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dorothy Fields 1905–1974 American songwriter (died 1974) Emmeline Pankhurst 1858–1928 English political activist and suffragist (died 1928) Fritz Langanke 1919–2012 German lieutenant (born 1919) Harrison Birtwistle 1934–2022 British composer (born 1934) Inigo Jones 1573–1652 English architect, designed the Queen's House (died 1652)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1892

Artur Rodziński 1892–1958 Polish-American conductor (died 1958) Corrie ten Boom 1892– Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (died 1983) Engelbert Dollfuss 1892–1934 Austrian politician, 14th Chancellor of Austria (born 1892) Hugh MacDiarmid 1892–1978 Scottish poet and linguist (died 1978) Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji 1892–1988 English pianist, composer, and critic (died 1988) Mary Pickford 1892–1979 Canadian-American actress, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of United Artists (died 1979) Peggy Wood 1892–1978 American actress (died 1978) Reinhold Niebuhr 1892–1971 American theologian and academic (born 1892) Robert Staughton Lynd 1892–1970 American sociologist and academic (born 1892)

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More to explore

Walter's birthday July 15 Walter's zodiac Cancer When Walter departed 1940