Charles Hale (1831–1882) of

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 ...

was an American legislator and diplomat. Intermittently from 1855 to 1877, he served in the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

state

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He was

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

in 1859. In the 1860s he lived in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, as the American

consul-general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

. From 1872 to 1873 he worked as United States Assistant Secretary of State under

Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State fro ...

Biography

Hale was born in Boston on June 7, 1831, to

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured ...

and

Sarah Preston Everett Sarah Preston Everett Hale (5 September 1796 – 14 November 1866) was an American diarist, translator, columnist and newspaper publisher. Biography Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1796 Sarah Preston Everett was the daughter of the Reverend O ...

. Siblings included Sarah Everett Hale, Nathan Hale Jr.,

Lucretia Peabody Hale Lucretia Peabody Hale (September 2, 1820 – June 12, 1900) was an American journalist and author. Biography Hale was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and educated at George B. Emerson's school there. Subsequently she devoted herself to literat ...

Edward Everett Hale Edward Everett Hale (April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909) was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister, best known for his writings such as " The Man Without a Country", published in '' Atlantic Monthly'', in support of the Union ...

, Alexander Hale, and

Susan Hale Susan Hale (December 5, 1833 – September 17, 1910) was an American author, traveler and artist. She devoted herself entirely to the art of painting in watercolors which she studied under English, French and German masters. Hale traveled extensi ...

. Charles graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1850; whilst a student he rowed in the Undine Club. He served as class secretary, 1850–1882. In his early career, Hale worked as a journalist. He founded the short-lived journal ''To-Day: a Boston Literary Journal'' in 1852, of which only two volumes were published. He also contributed to his father's paper, the '' Boston Daily Advertiser'', in the 1850s and 1860s. There he started as a reporter after graduation, and was later a junior editor. He also contributed to the ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived at ...

'' and to the ''

Nautical Almanac A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea. The Almanac specifies for eac ...

''. In 1855, Hale was elected to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

and was chosen

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 1859, up to that time the youngest man ever chosen for the position. He served as U.S. consul-general in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, 1864–1870. In Cairo he "arrested the conspirator, John Surratt," suspected of plotting the assassination of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

. In 1866, 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 ...

. In 1871, he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate. He was appointed chairman of the committee on railroads, in which capacity he drew up a general railroad act, and was active in securing its enactment. From 1872 to 1873 he worked as Assistant United States Secretary of State, under Hamilton Fish. He returned to Boston and was again elected to the state House of Representatives in 1876 and 1877. He was also appointed State Commissioner of Public Lands, responsible for "laying out the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

." During the latter part of his life he lived in retirement, occupied in literary work, and much of the time was an invalid. He died in Boston on March 1, 1882. A funeral was held at the South Congregational Church on March 4, at 3pm. "Among those present were Mayor Green, the Hon. Robert R. Bishop, President of the State Senate; the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, and other relatives of the deceased man, and also the Senators and Representatives who served during Mr. Hale's term in the Legislature; the members of the Harvard Class of '50, and the employees of the Boston Daily Advertiser." He is buried in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge and Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, west of Boston. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brah ...

Works

* ''To-Day: a Boston Literary Journal''
v.1
(January–June, 1852);
v.2
(July–December, 1852). * * * Documents in: * "The Khedive and the Court." ''Atlantic Monthly'', May 1876. * "Municipal Indebtedness." ''Atlantic Monthly'', December 1876.

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading