George Swett Appleton (August 11, 1821 – July 8, 1878) was an American

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, the third son of

Daniel Appleton Daniel Appleton (December 10, 1785 – March 27, 1849) was an American publisher who founded D. Appleton & Co. Early life Daniel Appleton was born on December 10, 1785, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was the son of Daniel Appleton (1750� ...

Early life

George Swett Appleton was born on August 11, 1821 in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

. He was the third son of eight children born to

(1785–1849) and Hannah Adams (1791–1859), the daughter of John Adams and Dorcas Falkner. Appleton received a liberal education in New York and then traveled abroad to study, particularly in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Career

After his studies in Germany, he returned to the United States and for a number of years was an independent publisher and a book seller in

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. Sinc ...

. Employees included

Joseph Sabin Joseph Sabin (9 December 1821—5 June 1881) was a Braunston, England-born bibliographer and bookseller in Oxford, Philadelphia, and New York City. He compiled the "stupendous" multivolume ''Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books Relating to ...

. In 1860, he joined the family publishing business, D. Appleton & Company, with his brothers and acted as the de facto press agent of the firm. In 1865, George moved his family to New York and became a partner with his three brothers, John,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, and Sidney in his father's publishing business, D. Appleton & Company. He was a scholar and art connoisseur, and acted as the literary adviser to the firm. ''Appletons' Art Journal'' and the ''

Popular Science Monthly ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, inclu ...

'' were planned by him. He was also responsible for the

Picturesque America ''Picturesque America'' was a two-volume set of books describing and illustrating the scenery of America, which grew out of an earlier series in '' Appleton's Journal''. It was published by D. Appleton and Company of New York in 1872 and 1874 a ...

volumes.

Personal life

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1846, he married Caroline Archer Osgood (b. 1830), the daughter of Robert H. Osgood of

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

and sister of Rear CommodoreNew York Herald. February 4, 1871 Franklin Osgood (1828-1888) of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

. Together they had two daughters and three sons: * Ellina Appleton (b. 1848), who married William A. Fraser in 1867. * Walter Stone Appleton (b. 1849), who married Annie P. Beach, the daughter of W. A. Beach, of Troy. * Emma Appleton (b. 1852), who married Madan, a Cuban. * George Swett Appleton (1854–1886), who worked at D. Appleton & Co. * Francis Appleton (b. 1856) He was a member of the

Century Association The Century Association is a private social, arts, and dining club in New York City, founded in 1847. Its clubhouse is located at 7 West 43rd Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is primarily a club for men and women with distinction ...

in New York, of which his brothers were founders, and a member of

Grace Church Grace Church may refer to: Canada * Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto China * Grace Church, Guanghan Poland * Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland United Kingdom United States * Grace Cathedral (disam ...

. Before his death, he resided at 17 East 32nd Street in Manhattan. Appleton died of cerebro-spinal meningitis on July 8, 1878 at the home of his brother in

Riverdale, Bronx Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College ...

. His funeral was held at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, George Swett 1821 births 1878 deaths Appleton family American book publishers (people) People from Andover, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople