Dionysios Solomos

Dionysios Solomos was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the Hymn to Liberty, which was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros and became the Greek and Cypriot national anthem in 1865 and 1966 respectively. He was the central figure of the Heptanese School of poetry. He is considered the national poet of Greece, not only because he wrote the national anthem, but also because he contributed to the preservation of earlier poetic tradition and highlighted its usefulness to modern literature. Other notable poems include Ὁ Κρητικός, Ἐλεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι. A characteristic of his work is that no poem except the Hymn to Liberty was completed, and almost nothing was published during his lifetime.

8 April 1798

Born on the same birth day (8 April): Albert I of Belgium • Betty Ford • Brenda Russell • Christine Boisson • David Rittenhouse • Detlef Bruckhoff • Jack Le Goff • Jang Yong • John Hicks • Phil Schaap • Ramón Emeterio Betances • Taylor Kitsch • Toutai Kefu

Born in the same month (April 1798): April 26 • August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben • Charles Wilkes • Macedonio Melloni • Étienne Bobillier