John Clagett Proctor (1867-1956) was a

local historian The British Association for Local History (BALH) is a membership organisation that exists to promote the advancement of public education through the study of local history and to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Bri ...

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

, and printer in Washington, D.C., best known for a long-running weekly column in the ''

Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...

'' newspaper. Proctor was born November 15, 1867, in a house on New York Avenue NW between 6th and 7th Streets in Washington, D. C. He was the seventh child and second son of Mary Ann (Davison) and John Clagett Proctor, a lawyer and journalist who was then the city editor of the ''

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'' newspaper. In 1883, Proctor began

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under Albert J. S. Curet at the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. The next year, he received a permanent job at the museum, where he would work until 1906. In the early 1890s, he enrolled in the National University Law School, graduating with a

master of laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in 1894. He passed the D.C. bar later that year, but never practiced as a lawyer. Long interested in "history, biography, and genealogy, especially of his native Washington and the neighboring Maryland and Virginia counties," Clagett began speaking at local events on historical topics. In 1902, he began to publish articles and other writings on local history. In 1928, he inaugurated a weekly column in the ''Washington Star.'' In 1949, he published his columns as a book: ''Proctor's Washington and Environs.'' In 1939, the National University Law School gave him an honorary doctorate of laws degree. Proctor died on April 19, 1956, at his house at 1605 Jonquil Street NW in Washington, D.C. His obituary in the '' Evening Star'' pronounced him the "outstanding historian on 19th Century Washington". In 1964, Milton Rubincam wrote for the

Columbia Historical Society The Historical Society of Washington, D.C., also called the DC History Center, is an educational foundation dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of Washington, D.C. The society provides lectures, exhibits, classes, and community e ...

A dedicated local historian, Proctor contributed extensively to our knowledge of the events that have taken place in the Nation's Capital and its environs. His published writings reflect his interest in every facet of life in this area —social, political, economic, financial, educational, diplomatic, literary, military, even genealogically.

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{{Authority control 1867 births 20th-century American historians American columnists 1956 deaths