biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1823–93)
|
| biography:
| Historian, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The son of a wealthy old Massachusetts family, he graduated from Harvard College (1844) and Law School (1846), but never intended to practise law. Always one who pursued outdoor experiences, he immediately headed West and set out on the Oregon Trail (1846), getting to know various American Indians and frontier types. His health suffered during the trip, and on his return that October it worsened. He published a series of articles in the Knickerbocker Magazine (1847) that came out in a single volume, The California and Oregon Trail (1849), now regarded as an American classic (as simply The Oregon Trail). He then began what would be his life's work, the eight-volume France and England in North America. The first volume was History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac (1848) and the last was A Half-Century of Conflict (1892). During many of those years he suffered from poor eyesight and a nervous disability that made it difficult to work on anything for long. During some of those periods, he developed an interest in horticulture, published his Book of Roses (1866), and even taught horticulture at Harvard (1871). He also wrote a novel, Vassal Morton (1856). His mastery of massive quantities of materials, the polish and resonance of his prose, and his insights into nature, history, and people, all combined to create his enduring reputation as one of the greatest of American historians. |
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