1803-1882
Biography
The American poet, philosopher, and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) led the Transcendentalist movement, which emerged in New England in the 19th century. The Transcendentalists emphasized the importance of intuition over institutions and rejected organized religion and the intellectual elite. Emerson’s poetry and essays celebrate the ideals of individualism, nature, and the life of the mind and spirit.