George Frideric Handel (as he called himself after his change of nationality, as he signed himself, and as he is known in the English-speaking world) (1685–1759) was a German/English baroque composer who was a leading composer of concerti grossi, operas, and oratorios. Born Georg Friedrich Händel on 23rd February 1685 in Halle an der Saale (Germany), Handel lived most of his life in England, and became English by Act of Parliament in 1727.