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Moses Polock
Moses Polock (May 14, 1817 – August 16, 1903) was a Jewish-American publisher and the first bookseller in the United States who dealt exclusively in rare books. At the time of his death, he was the oldest bibliophile in the country. Early life Moses Polock was born in Philadelphia on May 14, 1817. He was the fourth of twelve children to Hyman Polock (April 3, 1786 - August 15, 1870) and Rebecca Barnett (May 24, 1791 - September 5, 1884). The couple were born in Amsterdam. Polock was the son of Phineas Polock, whose ancestors are believed to have immigrated from Poland around the 17th century due to war and political unrest. The two were wed on June 12, 1811 in London and immigrated to the United States in 1813 at the encouragement of Barnett's uncle, Aaron Levy, who possibly financed the voyage. During the trip, Barnett was pregnant with her first child. Levy was a prominent merchant who immigrated to Pennsylvania sometime between 1760 and 1770 to trade with the native peop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the nation's seventh-largest and one of world's largest metropolitan regions, with 6.245 million residents . The city's population at the 2020 census was 1,603,797, and over 56 million people live within of Philadelphia. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker. The city served as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony during the British colonial era and went on to play a historic and vital role as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia ultimately inspired the American Revolution and the nation's inde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Fenimore Cooper
James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought him fame and fortune. He lived much of his boyhood and the last fifteen years of life in Cooperstown, New York, which was founded by his father William Cooper (judge), William Cooper on property that he owned. Cooper became a member of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church shortly before his death and contributed generously to it. He attended Yale University for three years, where he was a member of the Linonian Society.#Lounsbury, Lounsbury, 1883, pp. 7–8 After a stint on a commercial voyage, Cooper served in the U.S. Navy as a midshipman, where he learned the technology of managing sailing vessels which greatly influenced many of his novels and other writings. The novel that launched his career was ''The Spy (Cooper nov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Hope Reed
Henry Hope Reed (11 July 1808 – 27 September 1854Johnson, Rossiter and John Howard Brown (1904). ''The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans.'' The Biographical Society) was an American educator. He was considered the star of the faculty at University of Pennsylvania and was an early champion of poet William Wordsworth.Baltzell, Edward Digby (1996) ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia.'' Transaction Publishers, Life and career Reed graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1825, practiced law in Philadelphia, and was assistant-professor of moral philosophy in the University of Pennsylvania in 1831–1834 and professor of English literature and rhetoric there in 1835–1854. He assisted William Wordsworth in the preparation of an American edition of his poems in 1837, edited in America Christopher Wordsworth's Memoirs of William Wordsworth (1851) and published Lectures on English Literature from Chaucer to Tennyson (1855). In 1838, Reed was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his studies of electricity, and for charting and naming the current still known as the Gulf Stream. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among others. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Isaacson, 2004, p. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamerlane And Other Poems
''Tamerlane and Other Poems'' is the first published work by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The short collection of poems was first published in 1827. Today, it is believed only 12 copies of the collection still exist. Poe abandoned his foster family, the Allans, and moved to Boston to find work in 1827. Having only minor success, he enlisted in the United States Army. He brought with him several manuscripts, which he paid a printer named Calvin F. S. Thomas to publish. The 40-page collection was called ''Tamerlane and Other Poems'' and did not include Poe's name. Distribution was limited to 50 copies and it received no critical attention. The poems were largely inspired by Lord Byron, including the long title poem " Tamerlane", which depicts an historical conqueror who laments the loss of his first romance. Like much of Poe's future work, the poems in ''Tamerlane and Other Poems'' include themes of love, death, and pride. Poe's first published collection is so rare that aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States, and of American literature. Poe was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story, and considered to be the inventor of the detective fiction genre, as well as a significant contributor to the emerging genre of science fiction. Poe is the first well-known American writer to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career. Poe was born in Boston, the second child of actors David and Elizabeth "Eliza" Poe. His father abandoned the family in 1810, and when his mother died the following year, Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan of Richmond, Virginia. They never formally adopted him, but he was with them well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel W
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated as a prophet in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to his role in the Hebrew scriptures, Samuel is mentioned in Jewish rabbinical literature, in the Christian New Testament, and in the second chapter of the Quran (although Islamic texts do not mention him by name). He is also treated in the fifth through seventh books of '' Antiquities of the Jews'', written by the Jewish scholar Josephus in the first century. He is first called "the Seer" in 1 Samuel 9:9. Biblical account Family Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Elkanah lived at Ramathaim in the district of Zuph. His geneal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Grant Mitchell
Donald Grant Mitchell (April 12, 1822December 15, 1908) was an American essayist and novelist who usually wrote under the pen name Ik Marvel. Biography Mitchell, the grandson of politician and jurist Stephen Mix Mitchell, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1841, where he was a member of Skull and Bones and studied law, but he soon took up literature. Throughout his life he showed a particular interest in agriculture and landscape gardening, which he followed at first in pursuit of health. He served as U.S. consul at Venice, Italy, from 1853 to 1854, and in 1855 he settled at his estate, called Edgewood, near New Haven, Connecticut. He was best known as the author, under the pseudonym "Ik Marvel", of the sentimental essays contained in the volumes ''Reveries of a Bachelor ''Reveries of a Bachelor'' or ''A Book of the Heart'' is a book by American author Donald Grant Mitchell, published in 1850 under the pseudonym Ik Marvel. In the text, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Godfrey Leland
Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensively, and became interested in folklore and folk linguistics. He published books and articles on American and European languages and folk traditions. He worked in a wide variety of trades, achieved recognition as the author of the comic ''Hans Breitmann’s Ballads'', and fought in two conflicts. He wrote '' Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches'', which became a primary source text for Neopaganism half a century later. Early life Leland was born to Charles Leland, a commission merchant, and Charlotte Godfrey on 15 August 1824 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother was a protegee of Hannah Adams, the first American woman to write professionally. Leland believed he was descended from John Leland, among other illustrious antiquaries. Leland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Henry Boker
George Henry Boker (October 6, 1823 – January 2, 1890) was an American poet, playwright, and diplomat. Early years and education Boker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was Charles S. Boker, a wealthy banker, whose financial expertise weathered the Girard National Bank through the panic years of 1838-40, and whose honour, impugned after his 1857 death, was defended many years later by his son in "The Book of the Dead." Charles Boker was also a director of the Mechanics National Bank. Boker was brought up in an atmosphere of ease and refinement, receiving his preparatory education in private schools, and entering Princeton University in 1840. While there he helped found, and was first editor of, the college literary magazine, the ''Nassau Monthly'' (now the ''Nassau Lit''). He was left in easy circumstances, and was able to devote his time to literature, as well as boxing and dancing. Charles Godfrey Leland, a relative, recounted: Boker graduated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Eaton (politician)
John Henry Eaton (June 18, 1790November 17, 1856) was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He was 28 years, 4 months, and 29 days old when he entered the Senate, making him the youngest U.S. Senator in history. Eaton was a lawyer in Tennessee who became part of a network that supported the political campaigns of Andrew Jackson. He also served in the militia as a major, and during the War of 1812 became an aide to Jackson; Eaton served with Jackson in all his wartime campaigns and battles, including the Battle of New Orleans. After serving in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1815 and 1816, in 1818 Eaton was elected to the United States Senate, though he had not yet reached the constitutionally mandated age of 30. Following Jackson's election to the presidency in 1828, Eaton resigned his Senate seat to join Jackson's cabinet as Secretary of War. Eaton and his wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bancroft
George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts and at the national and international levels. During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of the Navy, he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He was a senior American diplomat in Europe, leading diplomatic missions to Britain and Germany. Among his best-known writings is the magisterial series, ''History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent''. Early life and education Bancroft was born on October 3, 1800, in Worcester, Massachusetts. His family had been in Massachusetts Bay since 1632. George's father, Aaron Bancroft, was distinguished as a revolutionary soldier, a leading Unitarian clergyman, and author of a popular biography of George Washington. Education Bancroft began his education at Phillips Exeter Academy. He enter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
