Ralph Waldo Emerson is widely regarded as one of America's most influential authors, philosophers and thinkers.
•born in Boston, Massachusetts to the Rev. William Emerson, a Unitarian minister in a famous line of ministers; Emerson was later to become a Unitarian minister himself. when Emerson was eight years old, his father died. at the age of 14, Emerson went to Harvard University and was appointed President's Freshman, a position which gave him a room free of charge.

•He gradually drifted from the doctrines of his peers, then formulated and first expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism in his essay Nature.
•1829Emerson made his living as a schoolmaster, then went to Harvard Divinity School, and emerged as a Unitaritan minister
•1831 his young wife and reputed one true love, Miss Elena Louisa Tucker, died
•1836 founded the Transcendental Club, which served as a center for the movement, but didn't publish its journal The Dial, until July of 1840
•Early in 1842, Emerson lost his first son, Waldo, to scarlet fever. Emerson wrote about his grief in two major works: the poem "Threnody", and the essay "Experience".
•Emerson was noted as being a very abstract and difficult writer who nevertheless drew large crowds for his speeches. Emerson made a living as a popular lecturer in New England and the rest of the country outside of the south.
•Emerson associated closely with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau and often took walks with them in Concord
•Emerson is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord. The town of Emerson, Manitoba is named after him

Works
NATURE
THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR
THE DIVINITY SCHOOL ADDRESS
ESSAYS (COMPENSATION, SELF-RELIANCE, CIRCLES)
THE TRANSCENDENTALIST
THE CONDUCT OF LIFE