George Parsons Lathrop (August 25, 1851 – April 19, 1898) was an American poet, novelist, and newspaper editor.
Lathrop was known for pioneering
copyright laws
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
in the United States and the first international copyright law
Biography
Early life
George Lathrop was born August 25, 1851, in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
. His father was the physician George Alfred Lathrop and his mother was Frances Maria (Smith) Lathrop. His brother was the painter
Francis Lathrop.
George Parsons Lathrop attended
Columbia Grammar School in New York City, then in 1867 was sent to study in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
in what was then the
German Empire. It was in Dresden that he met
Rose Hawthorne, the second daughter and youngest child of Nathaniel Hawthorne. After returning to New York in 1879, Lathrop entered
Columbia College Law School. Finishing one term at Columbia, Lathrop practiced law in New York for a year. However, the need for more money prompted him to start a literary career. Lathrop soon left for London, marrying Rose in
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
on September 11, 1871. The couple then returned to the United States, settling in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
.
Literary career
In 1875, Lathrop became associate editor of the ''
Atlantic Monthly'' in Washington, D.C, serving there for two years''.'' Their only child, Francis, was born during this period. George Lathrop became editor in 1879 of the ''
Boston Courier
The ''Boston Courier'' was an American newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded on March 2, 1824, by Joseph T. Buckingham as a daily newspaper which supported protectionism. Buckingham served as editor until he sold out complete ...
'' in Boston. Lathrop published several books for the publisher
Roberts Brothers
Messrs. Roberts Brothers (1857–1898) were bookbinders and publishers in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1857 by Austin J. Roberts, John F. Roberts, and Lewis A. Roberts, the firm began publishing around the early 1860s. Ameri ...
in Boston, including ''Afterglow'' (1877) and ''Somebody Else'' (1878). He also edited ''
A Masque of Poets
''A Masque of Poets'' is an 1878 book of poetry published in the United States. The book included several poems, all published anonymously, including one by Emily Dickinson. Names were not included in the compilation so that the original works cou ...
,'' a book of poetry published in the Roberts Brothers "No Name" series.
In 1879, Lathrop purchased the Hawthorne home, called "
The Wayside
The Wayside is a historic house in Concord, Massachusetts. The earliest part of the home may date to 1717. Later it successively became the home of the young Louisa May Alcott and her family, who named it Hillside, author Nathaniel Hawthorne and ...
", in
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...
. In 1881, after the death of Francis, the couple went to Spain so that he could write articles for ''
Harper's Monthly
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
''. He produced a work entitled "Spanish Vistas". The Lathrops returned to the United States in 1892. They decided to move to New York City again and sold their house in Concord.
He became the literary editor for the
''New York Star''. During this period, Lathrop created the play ''Elaine'', based on the poem "Lancelot and Elaine" from ''
Idylls of the King'' by
Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The play was successfully staged at the
Madison Square Theater in Manhattan and later toured in other American cities.
In 1883, Lathrop founded the American Copyright League, which assisted in securing an
international copyright law
While no creative work is automatically protected worldwide, there are international treaties which provide protection automatically for all creative works as soon as they are fixed in a medium. There are two primary international copyright agreem ...
. He and Rose moved to
New London Connecticut in 1885. They converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in March 1891. He was a founder in 1892 of the
Catholic Summer School of America The Catholic Summer School of America originated at the end of the nineteenth century. A Catholic summer school is an assembly of Roman Catholics, both clergy and laity, held during the summer months. It aims to foster intellectual culture in harmon ...
in New London. In 1896, due to George Lathrop's
alcohol abuse problem, the couple separated.
Death
George Lathrop died on April 19, 1898, at
Roosevelt Hospital
Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System.
The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The f ...
in Manhattan of
kidney disease and heart disease with his brother Francis and former wife Rose at his side.
After his death, Rose became a
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
. Eventually called Mother Mary Alphonsa, she organized a community of Dominican tertiaries, the
Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, which operated two cancer hospitals in New York City.
Selected works
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Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lathrop, George Parsons
1851 births
1898 deaths
19th-century American novelists
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Catholics from Massachusetts
Catholics from New York (state)
American Roman Catholic poets
American male novelists
19th-century American poets
Converts to Roman Catholicism
Novelists from Massachusetts
Novelists from New York (state)
American opera librettists
American male poets
19th-century American dramatists and playwrights
19th-century American male writers
American male non-fiction writers