A Timeline of the Life and Times of Frederyk Chopin 

1772 – Russia, Prussia and Austria seize 30% of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's territory and divide it among themselves. 

1787 – Sixteen year-old Nicolas Chopin relocates from his native France to Warsaw, Poland at the invitation of Polish emigrees he became friendly with in his native country. After a few years of factory work, Nicolas begins teaching the French language to wealth Polish families. He adopts the first name Mikołaj. 

1793 – After Poland's defeat in the Polish-Russian War of 1792, additional Polish territory is again partitioned between Russia, Prussia and Austria.   

1795 – Russia, Prussia and Austria divide the rest of Poland amongst themselves, erasing an independent Polish state from the map of Europe. Warsaw becomes the capital of the province of South Prussia.  

1802 - Mikołaj becomes the tutor for the family of Countess Ludwika Skarbek.The Skarbeks live on an estate 30 miles west of Warsaw.   

1806 - Mikołaj marries Justyna Krzyżanowska, the housekeeper for the Skarbek estate. The two live in a modest house on the grounds. 

1807 – Napoleon I defeats Prussia and establishes the Duchy of Warsaw as a client state with ties to the French Empire. 

1810 – On March 10, the Chopin's second child, a boy named Fryderyk, is born. Six months later, Mikołaj is hired to be the French instructor at the Warsaw lyceum and the Chopin family moves to the capitol city.   

1812 – Following Napoleon's defeated invasion of Russia, the Duchy of Warsaw is occupied by Prussian and Russian forces.   

1814 – The four-year-old Frederyk Chopin receives his first piano lesson from his mother.  

1815 – The Congress of Vienna divides Polish land again between Prussia and Russia. Russia establishes the Kingdom of Poland as a semi-autonomous state with its own constitution. 

1816 – Wojciech Żywny is hired by the Chopin family to tutor six-year-old Frederyk. 

1817 - Frederyk Chopin composes his first work, Polonaise in G Minor.   

1818 – Chopin gives his first public performance. The Warsaw press begins to refer to him as "a Polish Mozart."  

1823 – Twelve year-old Chopin concludes his lessons with Żywny, having learned everything the tutor could teach him.    

1826 – The entire Chopin family goes on summer holiday to the spa town of Bad Reinerz to help Frederyk and his younger sister Emilia who both have contracted tuberculosis. Emilia dies the following year at the age of 14.   

1829 - Chopin performs his Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni for the first time at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna on August 11. Two years later, while reviewing the published version of the piece, German composer Robert Schumann declares "Hats off, gentleman, a genius".  

1830 – Twenty-year-old Chopin leaves Warsaw on November 2nd, intending to visit Austria and Italy. Later that month in Poland, the November Uprising against Russia begins in protest of Tsar Nicholas I's disregard of Poland's constitution. The rebellion is defeated and the limited autonomy of Poland ended completely. Chopin will never again return to his homeland. In France, King Charles X is forced to abdicate after his unpopular attempts to seize additional power. The more liberal Louis Philippe becomes the new King. 

1831 – With Italy experiencing unrest, Chopin changes his travel plans and journeys to France instead, arriving in Paris in October. He soon meets Hungarian composer Franz Liszt and they become friends.  

1832 - Chopin gives his first public concert in Paris on February 25th. Afterwards he decides not to perform in large concert spaces again, preferring more intimate venues and private salons. To support himself, Chopin begins teaching piano to affluent students, and publishing his compositions, including his first three Nocturnes (Opus 9). 

1833 - More of Chopin's early compositions are published, including his first collection of Études (Opus 10), his Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor and his Rondo à la Krakowiak in F major.  

1834 - Chopin meets Felix Mendelssohn at a music festival in Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany. His Grand valse brillante in E♭ major (Opus 18) and his first four Mazurkas (Opus 17) are published.  

1835 - Chopin publishes a composition in a new form, his Scherzo No. 1 in B minor (Opus 20). 

1836 - Chopin meets the French novelist George Sand at a party in Paris. Several of his most enduring works are published, including his Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor (Opus 21), Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E♭ major (Opus 22), and Ballade No. 1 in G minor (Opus 23). 

1837 - Many Chopin works are published, including his second collection of Études (Opus 25), his first two Polonaises (Opus 26), his Scherzo No. 2 in B♭ minor, and his famous Nocturne No. 7 in C♯ minor (Opus 27). 

1838 - Chopin and George Sand begin a romantic relationship. They travel to Majorca for the winter to try to help Chopin with his poor health.   

1839 - Chopin begins spending the summers at Sand's estate in Nohant, while spending the winter in Paris. His collection of 24 Preludes (Opus 28), which he spent the past three years composing, are published. 

1840 - One of Chopin's most famous pieces, which he wrote the year before while at Sand's estate, is published: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor (Opus 35), which includes the "Funeral March." Also published is his Polonaise in A major (Opus 40), which is unofficially known as the "Military Polonaise"  

1842 - Chopin's health begins to seriously decline and his compositions become less frequent. His Fantaisie in F minor (Opus 49) is published. 

1843 - Another major work, Polonaise in A♭ major (Opus 53), is published. George Sand is immensely moved by the piece when she hears it, writing "The inspiration! The force! The vigour! There is no doubt that such a spirit must be present in the French Revolution. From now on this polonaise should be a symbol, a heroic symbol." As a result, the piece becomes informally known as the "Heroic Polonaise." 

1844 - Only a few new works of Chopin's are published over the next three years, including his Berceuse in D♭ major (Opus 57), Piano Sonata No.3 in B minor (Opus 58), and Barcarolle in F♯ major (Opus 60). 

1846 - A bad harvest and a resulting financial crisis plague France, sowing discontent that will grow exponentially over the next two years. 

1847 - Chopin and Sand end their relationship. The same year Sand publishes her novel Lucrezie Floriani about a rich actress and a prince in weak health, which contemporaries found to clearly draw inspiration from her relationship with Chopin. The final compositions published during Chopin's life appear this year, including his 3 Waltzes (Opus 64) and his Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor (Opus 65), one of the composer's few compositions for an instrument other than piano.  

1848 - Revolution breaks out in Paris in February and across Europe throughout the year. King Louis Philippe abdicates and the French Second Republic is declared in March, with elections held later in the year. Chopin travels to England and Scotland to perform from April to November before returning to Paris, but the trip damages his health further. 

 1849 - Chopin dies on October 17th. He is buried in Paris's Père Lachaise Cemetery on October 30. At Chopin's request, an autopsy was performed after his death, for he was terrified of being buried alive. He also requested that his heart be removed from his body and preserved in alcohol for his sister Ludwika to take back to the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw, Poland, where it remains today. 

1855 - Despite Chopin's request that his unpublished manuscripts be destroyed, Chopin's friend and musical executor, Julian Fontana, at the request of the composer's family, published several of his previously unseen works, including his Waltz in A♭ major (Opus 69), which has come to be known as "The Farewell Waltz."