Hartley Burr Alexander, PhD (1873–1939), was an

American philosopher American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...

, writer, educator, scholar, poet, and iconographer.

Family and early years

Alexander was born in Syracuse, Nebraska, on April 9, 1873. His father, the Rev. George Sherman Alexander (1823–1894), was a Methodist minister and pioneer newspaper editor in Nebraska. These twin sources were to implant in young Hartley a delight in the written word and a distrust of Christianity. His mother, Abigail Smith Alexander (1835–1876), died when he was three and in 1877 his father remarried Susan Godding (1829–1893). Ms. Godding had been a teacher and chairperson in the Methodist School in East Greenwich and at Friends College in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and brought with her to the harsh Nebraska frontier a love of art, music and language that was to stay with Alexander for the remainder of his long and productive life. Living on the frontier exposed Alexander to the ways of the First Peoples and was to instill in him an interest in Native religion and spirituality that was to form one of the paths of life that he was to follow. In 1890, while still in high school he wrote a poem, ''To a Child's Moccasin, (Found at Wounded Knee)'' that bucked the current philosophy that "the only good Indian was a dead Indian." This was not to be the only time that Alexander's conscience was to lead him to take an unpopular stand that would put him in opposition to the current American standards.

Education

After graduating from high school in Syracuse, Nebraska in 1892 Alexander attended the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in nearby Lincoln. Following that he attended graduate school at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and obtained his doctorate at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1901. He received the Knight of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

award from the government of France in 1936 and was awarded an Honorary Membership in the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

for his collaboration with many of its architect members.

Career and accomplishments

He was on the staff of ''

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'' from 1903—1908, then became professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska.

Writings

His published writings include: * ''The Problem of Metaphysics'' (1902) * ''Poetry and the Individual'' (1906) * ''The Mid-Earth Life'' (1907) * ''Odes on the Generations of Man'' (1910) * ''The Religious Spirit of the American Indian'' (1910) *''The Mystery of Life'' (1913) * ''

The Mythology of All Races ''The Mythology of All Races'' is a 13-volume book series edited by Louis Herbert Gray between 1916 and 1932 with George Foot Moore George Foot Moore (October 15, 1851 – May 16, 1931) was an American historian of religion, author, professor, ...

'', volume x: ''North American'' (1916); volume xi: ''Latin American'' (1920) * ''Liberty and Democracy'' (1918) * ''Letters to Teachers'' (1919) * ''God's Drum - and Other Cycles from Indian Lore'' (1927) * ''Truth and the Faith'' (1929) * ''God and Man's Destiny: Inquiries into the Metaphysical Foundations of Faith'' (1936) * ''The World's Rim - Great Mysteries of the North American Indians'' (1953) (Posthumous) He wrote a volume of poetry, ''Odes and Lyrics'' (1921). In 1919 he served as president of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

Iconographer

Burr is believed to have coined the term ''iconographer'' to describe the work that he did developing iconographic schemes, decorative themes and inscriptions for a large number and variety of public buildings in the United States. These include: *Alexander family burial plot marker, Lee Lawrie, sculptor, c.1924, Syracuse, NE *

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Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois, 1933 * Kansas City City Hall, Wight & Wight, architects, 1936,

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. In this commission each of the three sculptors involved,

C. Paul Jennewein Carl Paul Jennewein (December 2, 1890 – February 22, 1978) was a German-born American sculptor. Early career Jennewein was born in Stuttgart in Germany. At the age of seventeen, he immigrated to the United States in 1907. He was apprent ...

, Walker Hancock and Ulrik Ellerhusen were required to each pay Alexander $100 from their fee for his input *Fidelity Mutual Insurance Building,

Zantzinger, Borie and Medary Zantzinger, Borie and Medary was an American architecture firm that operated from 1905 to 1950 in Philadelphia. It specialized in institutional and civic projects. For most of its existence, the partners were Clarence C. Zantzinger, Charles Loui ...

, architects, Lee Lawrie, sculptor, 1926,

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, Pennsylvania *Goodhue Memorial Fountain *

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, John and Alan McDonald, architects, 1931, Omaha Nebraska * Justice Department Building, Zantzinger, Borie and Medary, architects, 1931-1934, Washington D.C. *

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, Bertram G. Goodhue, architect, Lee Lawrie, sculptor, Los Angeles, California *Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Home Office Building, Ottawa, Canada *Myron Taylor Hall,

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

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Nebraska State Capitol The Nebraska State Capitol is the seat of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska and is located in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. Designed by New York architect Bertram Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue in 1920, it was constructed of Ind ...

, Bertram G. Goodhue, architect, Lee Lawrie, sculptor, Lincoln Nebraska *

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Leo Friedlander, sculptor *

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

, Lee Lawrie,

Paul Manship Paul Howard Manship (December 25, 1885 – January 31, 1966) was an American Sculpture, sculptor. He consistently created mythological pieces in a classical style, and was a major force in the Art Deco in the United States, Art Deco movement. ...

, Rene Paul Chambellan et al., sculptors NYC *Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Paul Cret architect, Einar Jónsson, Heinz Warneke, John Flannagan,

Jacques Lipchitz Jacques Lipchitz (26 May 1973) was a Lithuanian-born French-American Cubist sculptor. Lipchitz retained highly figurative and legible components in his work leading up to 1915–16, after which naturalist and descriptive elements were muted, domi ...

et al., sculptors, 1932 Philadelphia Pennsylvania *State Finance Building,

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*Title and Trust Building, Los Angeles, California *

Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

Legacy

The Ryons-Alexander House, which he purchased, later was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1982. He was inducted into the

Nebraska Hall of Fame The Nebraska Hall of Fame officially recognizes prominent individuals from the State of Nebraska. Twenty-six busts located on the second floor of the Nebraska State Capitol commemorate members of the Hall of Fame. Nebraska Medal of Honor recipie ...

in 1988.

Sources

*Kvaran and Lockley ''Architectural Sculpture in America'', unpublished manuscript *Luebke, Frederick C. Editor, ''A Harmony of the Arts – The Nebraska State Capitol'', University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska 1990 *Masters, Magaret Dale, ''Hartley Burr Alexander—Writer-In-Stone'', Margaret Dale Masters 1992. *Whitaker, Charles Harris, Editor, Text by Hartley Burr Alexander, Lee Lawrie, Paul Cret et al., '' Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Architect-and Master of Many Arts'', Press of the American Institute of Architects, Inc., NYC 1925 *Whitaker, Charles Harris and Hartley Burr Alexander, ''The Architectural Sculpture of the State Capitol at Lincoln Nebraska'', Press of the American Institute of Architects, NY 1926

External links

* Scroll down to "H. B. Alexander" biography with portrait. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Hartley Burr 1873 births 1939 deaths American essayists Philosophers from Nebraska Knights of the Legion of Honour Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Writers from Lincoln, Nebraska People from Syracuse, Nebraska Presidents of the American Philosophical Society