Daniel Adams (September 29, 1773June 8, 1864) was a noted physician, textbook author, and state legislator. He was born in

Townsend, Massachusetts Townsend is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,127 at the 2020 census. History Townsend was first settled by Europeans in 1676 in an area known by indigenous people of the area as Wistequassuck, an ...

to Daniel Adams and Lydia Taylor Adams in 1773. He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

in 1797, and received his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1799. He married Nancy Mulliken in 1800, and began the practice of medicine in

Leominster, Massachusetts Leominster ( ) is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 43,782 at the 2020 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Both ...

that same year. He was chosen to deliver the

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

for

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

at the memorial service in Leominster. According to some accounts, this version was so popular that the town council had it printed and distributed free to the entire town. With Salmon Wilder he published the weekly newspaper ''Telescope'' from 1800 through 1802. Around 1805, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, taught at a private school, and edited the monthly magazine ''Medical and Agricultural Register''. In 1813, he moved to

Mont Vernon, New Hampshire Mont Vernon is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,584 at the 2020 census, up from 2,409 at the 2010 census. It is not clear why it is spelled differently from the many other towns in the United St ...

, and returned to the practice of medicine. He served in the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population ...

from 1838 through 1840. Later, in 1846, he moved to

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

, where he remained until his death in 1864. Adams compiled or wrote several different textbooks over the course of his life. His first was ''The Scholar's Arithmetic'' (1801). The text was very popular during the first quarter of the 19th century, and he published a revision of it, entitled ''Adam's New Arithmetic'', in 1827. Much later in 1848, he published another mathematics textbook entitled ''Primary Arithmetic''. He compiled three reading textbooks during his life, ''The Understanding Reader'' (1803), ''The Agricultural Reader'' (1824), and ''The Monitorial Reader'' (1841). He also wrote a grammar textbook ''The Thorough Scholar, or the Nature of Language'' (1802), a geography textbook ''Geography, or a Description of the World'' (1814), and an accounting textbook ''Bookkeeping'' (1849).

References

*''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.

External links

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887-1889
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Daniel 1773 births 1864 deaths People from Townsend, Massachusetts People from Leominster, Massachusetts Dartmouth College alumni New Hampshire state senators Physicians from New Hampshire People of colonial Massachusetts 18th-century American physicians 19th-century American physicians