Category: People N-T

Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes was a physician, poet, professor, lecturer, and author.

There really is no one like Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), the American poet, editor, publisher, travel essayist and, for a time, the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. He was born in Portland, Maine, and raised in Boston, before making his career as a New York writer and a member of the Knickerbocker group. Though barely remembered today (and, when he is, usually for his associations with other writers), he was a powerhouse of the antebellum period. At one point, for example, he was a regular columnist for three different publications, causing even Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to be jealous of his income.

A quick read through Pencillings by the Way or Out-doors at Idlewild reveals little substance in Willis. However, he was one of the earliest Americans to travel to Europe and write back about his experiences. His prose drew readers in using a style that addressed them directly as close, intimate friends. He made it seem that he was just a rustic American who happened to get lucky and implied that anyone could trade places with him.

A local restaurateur and philanthropist, Peter Bent Brigham was born in Bakersfield, Vermont on February 4, 1807. (more…)

Richard Henry Dana III, Massachusetts lawyer and reformer, was born in Cambridge on January 3, 1851. (more…)