Johanna Kinkel

Born in Bonn in 1810, Johanna Kinkel was trained in music from a young age and became known as a composer, pianist, and writer. She was active in the cultural life of both Berlin and Bonn, and her work included songs, piano music, choral pieces, and prose.

She is also remembered for her connection to the democratic movement of the 1840s. Alongside her husband, the writer Gottfried Kinkel, she took part in an intellectual and political circle in Bonn, and after the upheavals of 1848–49 the couple eventually settled in London.

Kinkel died in London in 1858. Though she was long overshadowed by others of her time, she is now increasingly recognized for the range of her talents and for the way her life brought together music, literature, and political engagement.