Frédéric François Chopin, born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin on March 1, 1810, in Żelazowa Wola, was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period. He composed primarily for solo piano and achieved worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era, recognized for his "poetic genius" and unparalleled professional technique. A child prodigy, Chopin received his musical education and composed his early works in Warsaw, which became part of Congress Poland in 1815. He left Poland at age 20, settling in Paris at 21. After arriving in Paris on October 5, 1831, he never returned to Poland, becoming an expatriate of the Polish Great Emigration. He gained French citizenship in 1835. Chopin gave only about 30 public performances, preferring the intimate atmosphere of salons. He supported himself by selling his compositions and giving highly sought-after piano lessons. He developed friendships with notable figures such as Franz Liszt and was admired by contemporaries including Robert Schumann. After a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska (1836–1837), he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Aurore Dupin, known as George Sand, for nine years. A difficult visit to Mallorca with Sand in 1838–39 was nonetheless one of his most productive compositional periods. In his final years, he received financial support from his admirer Jane Stirling. Chopin suffered from poor health throughout most of his life and died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39.