Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

1646 – 1716 · died at about 70^[1][2]

Science & Invention

Fun Facts About Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's first job was as secretary to an alchemical society in Nuremberg; he knew fairly little about alchemy but presented himself as deeply learned.^[1]
• The University of Leipzig refused Leibniz a doctorate in law in 1666, most likely because he was too young, so he earned it at the University of Altdorf the same year.^[1]
• Leibniz built a calculating machine that could add, subtract, multiply and divide, and after he demonstrated it in London in 1673 the Royal Society quickly made him a member.^[1]
• Leibniz's optimistic idea that ours is the best possible world God could have created was lampooned by Voltaire in his satirical novella Candide.^[1][3][4]
• Leibniz never married: he proposed to a woman at age 50 but changed his mind when she took too long to decide.^[1]
• A calculus priority dispute with Isaac Newton darkened Leibniz's last years, and he died so out of favor that King George I, though near Hanover, skipped his funeral.^[1][5][6]
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was alive at the same time as Jean-Jacques Rousseau — their lives overlapped for 4 years (1712–1716).^[1][2][7][8]
• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel died on the same day of the year, November 14.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist, and diplomat. Alongside Isaac Newton, he is widely credited with the invention of calculus. He is also credited with making foundational contributions to other areas of mathematics, such as binary arithmetic and statistics.^[1]

Contemporaries

Christopher Wren

70 yr overlap

Isaac Newton

70 yr overlap

Louis XIV

69 yr overlap

John Locke

58 yr overlap

Matsuo Bashō

48 yr overlap

Peter the Great

44 yr overlap

Antonio Vivaldi

38 yr overlap

Johann Sebastian Bach

31 yr overlap

George Frideric Handel

31 yr overlap

Baruch Spinoza

31 yr overlap

Johannes Vermeer

29 yr overlap

Molière

27 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

When was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz born?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born in 1646 and died on November 14, 1716.

How old was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz at death?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz died in 1716 at about 70 years old (1646–1716).

What was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz known for?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was known for: Co-inventor of calculus, philosopher. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist, and diplomat. Alongside Isaac Newton, he is widely credited with the invention of calculus. He is also credited with making foundational contributions to other areas of mathematics, such as binary arithmetic and statistics.

Who was alive at the same time as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz?

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's closest contemporary was Christopher Wren. Their lives overlapped for 70 years.