Niccolò Paganini
Paganini was born October 27, 1782 in Genoa (in modern Italy). He started the violin at age seven and took private lessons from local violinists. Paganini repeatedly outperformed his teachers such that he always had to search for new ones. He would pick up the guitar, but rarely played the guitar in public. He would start giving concerts around Italy around 1800. For many years, Paganini performed primarily in regions surrounding his hometown.