Timeline January 1786

Events in January 1786 4

• 1729 – 1786 Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) Died 4 January 1786, aged 56 Moses Mendelssohn, the German Jewish philosopher regarded as a founding figure of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, died in Berlin. He argued for religious tolerance and the integration of Jews into European civic life while preserving Jewish identity. His translation of the Torah into German and his philosophical writings influenced generations of Jewish and German thinkers.
• 1786 – 1844 Nicholas Biddle (1786-1844) Died 27 February 1844, aged 58 American financier and president of the Second Bank of the United States. His fight with Andrew Jackson over renewing the bank's charter became known as the Bank War.
• 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom enacted Virginia disestablishes religion by law The Virginia General Assembly enacted the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, which disestablished the Anglican church and guaranteed freedom of religious belief and worship. The statute declared that no person could be compelled to support any religious institution against their will. It later influenced the religious liberty clauses of the United States Constitution.
• 1786 – 1846 Benjamin Haydon (1786-1846) Died 22 June 1846, aged 60 Haydon was an English painter of large historical canvases and a friend of Keats and Wordsworth. He is best remembered for his diaries. Debt and public neglect led to his suicide in London.