“ GESSNER, SOLOMON (1730–1788) , Swiss painter and poet, was born at Zürich on the 1st of April 1730. With the exception of some time (1749–1750) spent in Berlin and Hamburg, where he came under the influence of Ramler and Hagedorn, he passed the whole of his life in his native town, where he carried on the business of a bookseller. He died on the 2nd of March 1788. ”