gam@proper.UUCP (Gordon Moffett) (01/17/84)
As we collect dates for our calendars, I've run across a confusion about Beethoven's birthday. Some assert he was born Dec 16, 1770; others Dec 15. These dates are generally found in almanacs. Some times an almanac with simply state that Beethoven was christened on Dec 17, and `The New Grove Beethoven' (biography) agrees with this. In all the (music) references I have read, Beethoven's birthday is said to be `probably' the 16th, because people in those days were christened soon after they were born. Does anyone have any DEFINITIVE evidence on Beethoven's birthday? Or are we all just assuming it is the 16th of December?