George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) was an American
academician
An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...
and
Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of
languages
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and
criticism
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
of
Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...
.
Biography
Ticknor was born on August 1, 1791 in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts. He received his early education from his father,
Elisha Ticknor, former headmaster of the Franklin Grammar School, a grocer, and a founder of the
Massachusetts Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the system of free primary schools in Boston, and the first New England savings bank,
Provident Institution for Savings.
In 1805 George entered the junior class at
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 ...
, where he graduated in 1807. During the next three years he studied Latin and Greek with Rev. Dr
John Sylvester John Gardiner, rector of
Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 4,000 households, was founded in 17 ...
, and a pupil of Dr
Samuel Parr
Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...
.
In 1810 Ticknor began the study of
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
, and he was admitted to the bar in 1813. He opened an office in Boston, but practiced for only one year, satisfying himself that his vocation, or at least his taste, lay in the direction of letters rather than of law. His father helped finance his studies, and Ticknor traveled to Europe in 1815, studying for nearly two years at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
. He attended the lectures of the university and devoted himself to philological studies, especially to the ancient
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
. After that, he remained two years longer in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, chiefly on the continent, spending most of his time in the capitals of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, where he conducted critical studies of the national literatures.
[
In 1817, while still in Europe, Ticknor was selected as Smith professor of French and ]Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
languages and literatures (a chair founded in 1816), and professor of belles-lettres
is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...
at Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. In 1819 he returned to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, bringing with him a valuable library. He continued to add to this, and in time, it became one of the largest private collections in the country. For the rarity and importance of the books, it was unsurpassed, in some of its departments. His collection of Spanish literature was considered to rival the best private ones in Europe, and his library was also particularly strong in Portuguese literature
Portuguese literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the Portuguese language, particularly by citizens of Portugal; it may also refer to literature written by people living in Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique, and other P ...
. Ticknor was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1821.
During his professorship Ticknor advocated the creation of departments, the grouping of students in divisions according to proficiency, and the establishment of the elective system. He also reorganized his own department. He suggested improvements in the system of discipline, influenced by his studies of German universities. He greatly extended the range of intellectual culture among the students at the university, where literary instruction had been confined to the classics. He gave long, elaborate courses of lectures on French and Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...
. He also entered into a critical analysis of such writers as Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
, Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
, Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
, and Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. His lectures were attended by people from outside the college, who were attracted by their interest and by Ticknor's reputation as a speaker known for his diction and delivery. In 1828, he was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
Ticknor moved into half of the home built by Thomas Amory at the corner of Beacon and Park streets in 1829; it became known as the Amory-Ticknor House. In 1835 he resigned his chair after holding it for 15 years, and returned to Europe. In 1836, he was succeeded in the professorship at Harvard by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
. While in Europe, in June 1836, Ticknor recorded a frank interview with Austrian chancellor Klemens von Metternich
Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...
.
After his return to Europe, Ticknor devoted himself to the chief work of his life, the history and criticism of Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wit ...
. It was not fully treated even in Europe, where there was no adequate study of the literature as a whole in Spanish. Both Friedrich Bouterwek
Friedrich Ludewig Bouterwek (15 April 1766 – 9 August 1828) was Germany, German philosopher and critic, born to a mining director at Oker (Goslar), Oker, Electorate of Saxony; today a district of Goslar in Lower Saxony.
Life
Bouterwek studied l ...
and Jean Charles Leonard de Sismondi
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* ...
had worked with limited or secondhand resources. Ticknor developed in his college lectures the scheme of his more permanent work, which he published as the ''History of Spanish Literature'' (New York and London, 3 volumes, 1849). The book addresses Spanish civilization and manners as well as its literature. The ''History'' is considered exhaustive in scholarship, and direct in style. It gives many illustrative passages from representative works, and copious bibliographical references.
It was soon translated into Spanish (1851 – 1857) by Pascual de Gayangos y Arce
Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 – October 4, 1897) was a Spanish scholar and orientalist.
Life
Born in Seville, he was the son of Brigadier José de Gayangos, intendente of Zacatecas, in New Spain (Mexico). After completing his pr ...
and Enrique de Vedia
Enrique () is the Spanish language, Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich (given name), Heinrich of Germanic origin.
Equivalents in other languages are Henry (given name), Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, D ...
; into French by Magnabal; and German by Nikolaus Heinrich Julius and Ferdinand Wolf. The second American edition appeared in 1854; the third, corrected and enlarged, in 1863; the fourth, containing the author's last revision, in 1872, under the supervision of George Stillman Hillard; and the sixth in 1888.
Ticknor had succeeded his father as a member of the Primary School Board in 1822, and held this position until 1825. He was a trustee of the Boston Athenaeum
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...
in 1823 – 1832, and was vice-president in 1833. In addition, he was a director (1827 – 1835) and vice-president (1841 – 1862) of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, and a trustee of the Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...
(1826 – 1830) and of the Boston Provident Institution for Savings (1838 – 1850), the bank that his father had helped to found.
He was especially active in the establishment of the Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
(1852), and served in 1852 – 1866 on its board of trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
s, of which he was president in 1865. He spent fifteen months abroad in 1856 – 1857, at his own expense, to collect books for it, and gave the library both money and books. He helped establish the free circulating department. He left his collection of Spanish and Portuguese books and manuscripts to the Boston Public Library, after it was famously turned down by Harvard.
Family
Spouse: Anna (Eliot) Ticknor.
* Anna Eliot Ticknor
Anna Eliot Ticknor ( Boston, Massachusetts, June 1, 1823 – October 5, 1896) was an American educator, who launched the first correspondence school in the United States, and pioneered public libraries in Massachusetts.
Distinction
In 1873, Tick ...
* George Haven Ticknor, died during his childhood at age 5
* Susan Perkins Ticknor, died in infancy
* Eliza Sullivan (Ticknor) Dexter (1833–1880)
Bibliography
Works by Ticknor
* History of Spanish literature
v.1 (6th ed.)
v.2 (4th ed.)
** 6th ed. (via Internet Archive)
v.1
v.2
v.3
index
* Life, letters, and journals of George Ticknor
v.1 (1876 ed.)
v.2 (1877 ed.)
Ed. by George Stillman Hillard
Ticknor's minor works include, besides occasional reviews and papers:
* ''Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on the History and Criticism of Spanish Literature'' (1823)
* ''Outline of the Principal Events in the Life of General Lafayette'' (1825)
* ''Remarks on Changes Lately Proposed or Adopted in Harvard University'' (1825)
* ''The Remains of Nathan Appleton Haven, with a Memoir of his Life'' (1827)
*
Remarks on the Life and Writings of Daniel Webster
' (1831)
* ''Lecture on the Best Methods of Teaching the Living Languages'', delivered, in 1832, before the American Institute of Education
* ''Life of William Hickling Prescott'' (1864).
Works about Ticknor
* Charles Henry Hart
Charles Henry Hart (February 4, 1847, Philadelphia – July 29, 1918, New York City) was an Americans, American art expert and author.
Biography
He received a classical and scientific education, and studied law. He was admitted to the Bar assoc ...
''Memoir of George Ticknor, Historian of Spanish Literature''
Collins Printer, 1871
* "George Ticknor" in: Edwin Percy Whipple
Edwin Percy Whipple (March 8, 1819 – June 16, 1886) was an American essayist and critic.
Biography
He was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1819. For a time, he was the main literary critic for Philadelphia-based ''Graham's Magazine''. Lat ...
, Cyrus Augustus Bartol
''Recollections of eminent men: with other papers''
Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1886; p. 244+
* Sheila Heti
Sheila Heti (; born 25 December 1976) is a Canadian writer.
Early life
Sheila Heti was born on 25 December 1976 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Her brother is the comedian David Heti. Her father wanted ...
''Ticknor''
Fictionalized account of the relationship between George Ticknor and William H. Prescott
William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 – January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite having serious visual impairm ...
. Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
, 2006
Notes
References
*
*
Attribution:
* This work in turn cites:
** George S. Hillard
George Stillman Hillard (September 22, 1808 – January 21, 1879) was an American lawyer and author. Besides developing his Boston legal practice (with Charles Sumner as a partner), he served in the Massachusetts legislature, edited several Bo ...
, Anna Eliot Ticknor
Anna Eliot Ticknor ( Boston, Massachusetts, June 1, 1823 – October 5, 1896) was an American educator, who launched the first correspondence school in the United States, and pioneered public libraries in Massachusetts.
Distinction
In 1873, Tick ...
, ''Life, Letters and Journals of George Ticknor'' (2 vols., 1876). This book was edited, with a critical introduction, in 1909, by Ferris Greenslet
Ferris Lowell Greenslet (June 30, 1875 in Glens Falls, New York – November 19, 1959 in Boston) was an American editor and writer.
Biography
Greenslet graduated from Wesleyan University in 1897, and earned both an M.S. and the Ph.D. by Columbi ...
.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ticknor, George
1791 births
1871 deaths
19th-century translators
American Hispanists
Dartmouth College alumni
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Harvard University faculty
Literary critics of Spanish
People from Boston
Spanish–English translators
University of Göttingen alumni
Trustees of the Boston Public Library
Members of the American Philosophical Society