John Torrey Morse Jr. (January 9, 1840 – March 28, 1937) was an American

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, attorney, and politician.

Biography

John Torrey Morse was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 9, 1840, to John Torrey Morse Sr. and Lucy Cabot Jackson. He 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 lea ...

in 1860 after three years of study and read law in the office of John Lowell. He was admitted to the bar in 1862. In 1874, he 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 ...

from the 6th Suffolk district in Boston's

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 ...

. He served a one-year term. From 1879 to 1891, Morse was an elected member of the

Harvard Board of Overseers The Harvard Board of Overseers (more formally The Honorable and Reverend the Board of Overseers) is one of Harvard University's two governing boards. Although its function is more consultative and less hands-on than the President and Fellows of Harv ...

. In 1911, Harvard awarded him an honorary degree as Doctor of Literature.

Literary work

Morse began his career writing several legal treatises on banking, arbitration, and award, considered authoritative in their day, and contributing to periodicals. His legal writing gained him recognition as a leading expert on the subjects. In 1876, Morse published a biography of Alexander Hamilton in two volumes, considered his most significant work. Soon after, in 1880, he abandoned his legal career for literary pursuits. From 1879 to 1881, Morse was a co-editor of the ''International Review'' with future United States Senator

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850 November 9, 1924) was an American Republican politician, historian, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1924 and is best known for his positions on foreign policy. ...

. Morse was later the editor of the American Statesmen Series to which Lodge contributed biographies of Hamilton,

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison ...

, and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

. He also wrote biographies of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Sergeant Perry, Henry Lee, and Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. Morse also authored ''A Treatise on the Law of Banks and Banking'', ''The Law of Arbitration and Award'', and ''Famous Trials''.Bartleby, Great books online
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Personal life

Morse married Fanny P. Hovey of Boston in 1865. They had a daughter, Charlotte, and two sons, Cabot Jackson Morse and John Torrey Morse III. They lived on Fairfield Street 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 ...

. For the final thirty years of his life, Morse lived in Needham, Massachusetts. In October 1934, Morse and his daughter Charlotte were subject to a series of threatening notes demanding $175,000 or, in the alternative, threatening to kidnap Charlotte. After a heavy police presence at his Needham estate and federal and state investigation, the incident subsided. Morse was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

. He was a member of the private

Somerset Club The Somerset Club is a private social club in Boston, Massachusetts, founded perhaps as early as 1826. It is a center of Boston Brahmin families - New England's upper class - and is known as one of the big four clubs in the country, the other th ...

, Algonquin Club, and The Country Club.

Death

Morse died on March 27, 1937, at his home in Needham. At the time of his death, he was the earliest living graduate of

and second-oldest living (after fellow Boston attorney Henry Munroe Rogers, widower of Clara Kathleen Rogers).

Works

* ''The Law of Arbitration and Award'' (1872) * ''Famous Trials: The Tichborne Claimant, Troppmann, Prince Pierre Bonaparte, Mrs. Wharton, The meteor, Mrs. Fair'' (1874) * ''The Life of Alexander Hamilton'' (1876) * ''

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

'' (1889) * ''

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

'' (1890) * ''

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 thro ...

'' (1893) * ''

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

'' (1894) * ''Life and Letters of Oliver Wendell Holmes'' (1896) * ''

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

'' (1899) * ''A Treatise on the Law of Banks and Banking'' (1928)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, John Torrey 1840 births 1937 deaths American biographers American historians Harvard College alumni