William Austin Dickinson (April 16, 1829 – August 16, 1895) was an American lawyer. Known to family and friends as "Austin", he was the older brother of the poet

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massac ...

. After graduating from both Williston Seminary and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

, Dickinson taught briefly before pursuing a legal education. He attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

, then joined his father,

Edward Dickinson Edward Dickinson (January 1, 1803 – June 16, 1874) was an American politician from Massachusetts. He is also known as the father of the poet Emily Dickinson; their family home in Amherst, the Dickinson Homestead, is a museum dedicated to her. ...

, in his law practice. After his father's death, Austin became treasurer of Amherst College from 1873 until his death. In addition to his law practice and treasury work, Dickinson took part in numerous civic projects and responsibilities, such as moderating the town meetings from 1881 until his death, and acting as president of the Village Improvement Association. Dickinson on July 1, 1856 married Susan Huntington Gilbert, a friend of his sister Emily from childhood. They had three children and resided at the Evergreens, which stood, and still stands, adjacent to the

Dickinson Homestead The Emily Dickinson Museum is a historic house museum consisting of two houses: the Dickinson Homestead (also known as Emily Dickinson Home or Emily Dickinson House) and the Evergreens. The Dickinson Homestead was the birthplace and home from 1 ...

in downtown Amherst. Aside from his connection to his world-famous sister, Emily, Austin is also known for his longtime affair with

Mabel Loomis Todd Mabel Loomis Todd or Mabel Loomis (November 10, 1856 – October 14, 1932) was an American editor and writer. She is remembered as the editor of posthumously published editions of Emily Dickinson and also wrote several novels and logs of her ...

, a young Amherst College faculty wife who would eventually edit the first few collections of Emily Dickinson's poetry.

Notes

References

*Longsworth, Polly. 1984. ''Austin and Mabel: The Amherst Affair and Love Letters of Austin Dickinson and Mabel Loomis Todd''. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. . *Sewall, Richard B.. 1974. ''The Life of Emily Dickinson''. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. . People from Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 1829 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American poets American male poets Dickinson family {{US-law-bio-stub