Stanton Davis Kirkham (December 7, 1868 – January 6, 1944) was a naturalist,

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. Although widely travelled, he resided primarily in

Canandaigua Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora) is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county compl ...

, Ontario County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

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 ...

, the only child of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Murray S. Davis (Commander, 8th Cavalry, Troop A, Camp Winfield Scott, Nevada, 1867) and Julia Edith Kirkham Davis, daughter of Gen. Ralph Wilson Kirkham,

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, who adopted Kirkham and brought him 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 ...

. He was named after Secretary of War

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

, whom his father had served as an aide. He attended public schools in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and later graduated from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

Biography

Kirkham was the author of ''As Nature Whispers'' (1902), ''The Ministry of Beauty'' (1907), ''Where Dwells the Soul Serene'' (1907), ''In The Open: Intimate Studies and Appreciations of Nature'' (1908), ''The Philosophy of Self-Help: An Application of Practical Psychology to Daily Life'', (1909), ''Mexican Trails: A Record of Travel in Mexico, 1904-7, and a Glimpse at the Life of the Mexican Indian'' (1909), ''Resources: An Interpretation of the Well-Rounded Life'' (1910), ''East and West: Comparative Studies of Nature in Eastern and Western States'' (1911), ''Outdoor Philosophy: The Meditations of a Naturalist'' (1912), ''North and South: Notes on the Natural History of a Summer Camp and a Winter Home'' (1913), ''Half-True Stories: For Little Folks of Just the Right Age'' (1916), ''After Thirty Years'' (1923), ''Animal Nature and Other Stories'' (1926), ''Cruising Around the World and the Seven Seas'' (1927) and ''Shut-In'' (1936). He married Mary Clark Williams (1869 - 1911), granddaughter of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Myron H. Clark, on May 16, 1907. They had two children, a son, Paul Kirkham, and a daughter, Mary Clark Kirkham (1908-2000). He was quoted in Chapter 6 of ''

As a Man Thinketh ''As a Man Thinketh'' is a self-help book by James Allen (author), James Allen, published in 1903. It was described by Allen as "...

ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was histor ...

with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beau ...

'' by James Allen. He died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at the age of 75. An illness he contracted during a horseback journey across

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

in 1914 rendered him an invalid for the latter part of his life. His philosophy, as stated in ''The Ministry of Beauty'' and other works, could be said to fall within the category of

Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...

. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery,

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua (; ''Utaʼnaráhkhwaʼ'' in Tuscarora language, Tuscarora) is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,545 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrat ...

External links

* *
Works by Stanton Davis Kirkham
a
OnlineBooks
;Individual book selections:
Mexican Trails: A Record of Travel in Mexico, 1904-7, and a Glimpse at the Life of the Mexican IndianThe Ministry of BeautyWhere Dwells the Soul SereneThe Philosophy of Self-Help: An Application of Practical Psychology to Daily LifeOutdoor Philosophy: The Meditations of a NaturalistHalf-True Stories: For Little Folks of Just the Right AgeIn The Open: Intimate Studies and Appreciations of Nature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkham, Stanton Davis 1868 births 1944 deaths People from Nice American essayists Philosophers from New York (state) American spiritual writers Writers from New York (state) Transcendentalism People from Canandaigua, New York French emigrants to the United States American nature writers American male non-fiction writers

Biography

See also

External links