To begin with, the young Rousseau stayed with a friend, Madame de Warens, who lived in Savoie, only a few kilometres away from Geneva. Les Charmettes, dwelling of Madame de Warens, drawing by Töpfer Madame de Warens wielded much influence over him and was also instrumental in his conversion to Catholicism This was the beginning of the long, interesting epic journey which would last most of his lifetime. Later, he was apprenticed by his uncle to an engraver but as he was unhappy he decided to flee from Geneva when he was still a teenager. He brought his son up carefully, encouraging him to read all kinds of works, some very advanced for his age, which meant that he was far ahead of his peers in his level of education. However, he spent a happy childhood with his father, who had a loving nature. Sadly, his mother, (whose father was a pastor) died only a few days after his birth. His childhood was mostly spent in Geneva. He always remained fond of his native town, even though he did not actually live there much indeed, from 1750 onwards, when signing his many works, he never forgot to mention that he was a Citizen of Geneva. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born on 28 th June 1712 in Geneva.
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