George Frideric Handel Family Tree: The Story Behind Messiah

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759), known as George Frideric Handel, born 23 February 1685 in Halle, Duchy of Magdeburg (now Germany), and died 14 April 1759 in London, England, was Baroque London's most-influential composer — 42 operas, 29 oratorios: Messiah (1741 — the "Hallelujah" Chorus), Water Music (1717), Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749), Zadok the Priest (1727 — sung at every British coronation since); naturalised British subject 1727.

The Family's Roots: A Halle Barber-Surgeon Family

Father was a barber-surgeon; opposed son's music career.

His Parents

Father: Georg Händel (1622–1697) — barber-surgeon; 63 years old at George's birth.

Mother: Dorothea Taust Händel (1651–1730) — second wife of Georg; Lutheran pastor's daughter.

His Sisters

Dorothea Sophia (1687–1718); Johanna Christiana (1690–1709).

No wife; no children (never married).

The Handel Family Tree at a Glance

Father: Georg Händel (1622–1697) — barber-surgeon (63 at George's birth).

Mother: Dorothea Taust Händel (1651–1730).

Sisters: Dorothea Sophia (1687–1718); Johanna Christiana (1690–1709).

No marriage; no children.

Handel:

  • Born 23 February 1685, Halle (same year as J.S. Bach)
  • Father wanted him to be a lawyer; secretly played clavichord
  • Halle University law 1702 (briefly)
  • Hamburg 1703-1706; Italy 1706-1710
  • Kapellmeister to Prince George (later King George I of Great Britain) at Hanover 1710
  • Moved to London 1712; naturalised British 1727
  • Messiah premiered 13 April 1742, Dublin
  • Blind from cataracts 1751+ (like Bach — same surgeon John Taylor unsuccessfully operated on both)
  • Died: 14 April 1759, London — age 74; buried at Westminster Abbey

What the Handel Family Story Teaches Us

A barber-surgeon father (age 63 at Handel's birth) who opposed music. A pastor's-daughter mother. Two younger sisters. Never married; no children. A career that combined 42 operas, 29 oratorios, and every British coronation anthem since 1727.

For every family — large or small, famous or otherwise — the Handel story carries the same lesson. Some careers write the anthem for 300 years of British coronations.

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