Jared Sparks (May 10, 1789 – March 14, 1866) was an American historian, educator, and
Unitarian minister. He served as
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
of
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
from 1849 to 1853.
Biography
Born in
Willington, Connecticut
Willington is a New England town, town in Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 5,566 at the 2020 United ...
, Sparks studied in the
common school
A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretar ...
s, worked for a time at the carpenter's trade, and then became a schoolteacher. In 1809–1811, he attended the
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...
, where he met
John G. Palfrey, who became a lifelong friend.
He graduated from
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
, (now Harvard University), with an
A.B. in 1815, and an
A.M. in 1818. While an undergraduate, Sparks was a member of the
Hasty Pudding. In 1812, he served as a tutor to the children of a family in
Havre de Grace, Maryland
Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre ...
. A few years later he taught in a private school at
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population ...
during 1815–1817. Sparks also studied
theology
Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
and was college tutor in mathematics and
natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...
at Harvard College in 1817–1819. In 1817–1818 he was acting editor of 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 (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...
''.

He was the first pastor of the newly organized
"First Independent Church of Baltimore", serving from 1819 to 1823. It occupied what became a landmark structure at West Franklin and North Charles streets. It later was known as the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore (Unitarian and Universalist) after a 1935 merger with the Second Universalist Church at Guilford Avenue and East Lanvale Street.
At Sparks' ordination by Dr.
William Ellery Channing
William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarianism, Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theolo ...
(1780-1842), of the
Federal Street Church in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Channing delivered his discourse on Unitarian Christianity. This later was known as "The Baltimore Sermon". It set out the tenets and some principles for the developing theology and philosophy of Unitarianism. By 1825, these principles led to the founding of the
American Unitarian Association. (In 1961 a merger between two groups resulted in the modern
Unitarian Universalist Association of America.)
During this period, Sparks founded the ''Unitarian Miscellany'' and ''Christian Monitor'' (1821), a monthly, and edited its first three volumes. He served as chaplain of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from 1821 to 1823;
and he contributed to the ''National Intelligencer'' and other periodicals.
In 1823, his health failed and Sparks withdrew from the ministry. Removing to Boston, he bought and edited in 1824–1830 the ''North American Review'', contributing about 50 articles to it. He founded and edited in 1830, the ''American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge'', which was continued by others and long remained a popular annual.
In 1825 Sparks was elected as a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
,
and in 1827 as a member of the
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
. He later served two decades as the society's secretary for foreign correspondence, from 1846 to 1866.
After extensive researches at home and in London and Paris in 1828–1829, he published ''The Writings of
George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
'' (12 volumes, 1834–1837; redated 1842), his most important work. In 1839 he published separately his ''Life of George Washington'' (abridged, 2 volumes, 1842). The work was for the most part favorably received, but Sparks was severely criticized by
Lord Mahon (in the sixth volume of his ''History of England'') and others for altering the text of some of Washington's writings.
Sparks defended his methods in ''A Reply to the Strictures of Lord Mahon and Others'' (1852). The charges were not wholly justifiable, and later Lord Mahon (Stanhope) modified them.
While continuing his studies abroad in 1840–1841, Sparks discovered in the French archives the red-line map that, in 1842 gained international prominence in connection with the dispute over the north-eastern U.S.-Canadian boundary. Conflict had resulted in the
Aroostook War
The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, w ...
between the state of Maine in the United States and the
Province of New Brunswick in Canada.
Professorship

Sparks was one of the American intellectuals who received French author and traveler
Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (29 July 180516 April 1859), was a French Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, diplomat, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works ''Democracy in America'' (appearing in t ...
during his 1831–1832 visit to the United States. Their extensive conversations and subsequent correspondence informed de Tocqueville's best-known work, ''
Democracy in America
(; published in two volumes, the first in 1835 via Gallica; via Gallica and the second in 1840) via Gallica; via Gallica is a classic French work by Alexis de Tocqueville. In the book, Tocqueville examines the democratic revolution that he be ...
''.
In 1837, Sparks was elected as a member to 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 ...
.
In 1842 Sparks delivered 12 lectures on American history before the
Lowell Institute
The Lowell Institute is a United States educational foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts, providing both free public lectures, and also advanced lectures. It was endowed by a bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell Jr., who died in 1836. T ...
in Boston. In 1838–1849 he was the first
McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History at Harvard, endowed by the will of wealthy merchant John McLean (1761-1823).
books.google.com
/ref> His appointment to this position, says his biographer, was the first academic encouragement of American history, and of original historical research in the American field.
He was appointed in 1849 as president of Harvard College, and moved into a home on campus now called Treadwell-Sparks House. In 1853 Sparks retired on account of failing health, and devoted the rest of his life to his private studies. For several years he was a member of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Board of Education.
Death
Jared Sparks died on March 14, 1866, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark.
Dedicated in ...
. His valuable collection of manuscripts and papers went to Harvard University. His private library and his maps were bought by 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 ...
. He was a pioneer in large-scale collecting of documentary material on American history. He rendered valuable services to historical scholarship in the United States.
Works
Other works by Sparks include:
*
A sermon delivered at the ordination of the Rev. Jared Sparks, to the pastoral care of the First Independent Church in Baltimore
'. (1819)
*''Memoirs of the Life and Travels of John Ledyard
John Ledyard (November 1751 – 10 January 1789) was an American explorer and adventurer.
Early life
Ledyard was born in Groton, Connecticut, in November 1751. He was the first child of Abigail Youngs Ledyard and Capt. John Ledyard Jr, son o ...
'' (1828);
*''The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution'' (12 volumes, 1829–1830; redated 1854);
*''Life of Gouverneur Morris, with Selections from his Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers'' (3 volumes, 1832);
*''Phi Beta Kappa Oration (1832)'' manuscript at Harvard University Manuscript
*''A Collection of the Familiar Letters and Miscellaneous Papers of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
'' (1833);
*''The Works of Benjamin Franklin; with Notes and a Life of the Author'' (10 vols, 1836–1840; redated 1850), a work second in scope and importance to his Washington;
*''Correspondence of the American Revolution; being Letters of Eminent Men to George Washington, from the Time of his taking Command of the Army to the End of his Presidency'' (4 volumes, 1853);
He also edited the ''Library of American Biography'', in two series (10 and 15 volumes, respectively, 1834–1838, 1844–1847), - - to which he contributed articles on the lives of Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, Henry Vane the Younger
Sir Henry Vane (baptised 26 March 161314 June 1662), often referred to as Harry Vane and Henry Vane the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Henry Vane the Elder, was an England, English politician, statesman, and colonial governor. He ...
, Ethan Allen, spy, Gen. Benedict Arnold, explorer Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette, Society of Jesus, S.J. (; June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Society of Jesus, Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste. M ...
, explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Kazimierz Pulaski ("Count Pulaski"), Jean Ribault
Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A ...
, Gen. Charles Lee and John Ledyard
John Ledyard (November 1751 – 10 January 1789) was an American explorer and adventurer.
Early life
Ledyard was born in Groton, Connecticut, in November 1751. He was the first child of Abigail Youngs Ledyard and Capt. John Ledyard Jr, son o ...
, the last a reprint of his earlier work.
In addition, he aided Henry D. Gilpin in preparing an edition of the ''Papers of James Madison
James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
'' (1840), and brought out an American edition of William Smyth's ''Lectures on Modern History'' (2 volumes, 1841), which did much to stimulate historical study in the United States.
Memorials
Historian Francis Parkman dedicated his ''The Conspiracy of Pontiac'' (1851) to Sparks.
Memorial plaques and historical displays with portraits of Channing, Sparks and others are shown in the historical exhibit area of the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore (Unitarian and Universalist). The congregation commemorates the annual anniversary of "The Baltimore Sermon" of May 5, 1819, on the first Sunday in May. Their "Union Sunday" features a sermon/homily/address by an invited speaker; it is attended by the ministers and members of the Unitarian churches in Maryland, along with other visiting ecumenical members of other local Christian churches, and interested lay people.
See also
* Bibliography of George Washington (where many of Sparks' books are listed)
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* Herbert B. Adams, ''The Life and Writings of Jared Sparks'' (2 volumes, Boston, 1893).
* Brantz Mayer, ''Memoir of Jared Sparks'' (1867), prepared for the Maryland Historical Society.
* George E. Ellis, ''Memoir of Jared Sparks'' (1869), reprinted from the ''Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society'' for May 1868.
External links
*
*
Jared Sparks Papers
– Houghton Library, Harvard University.
''Tocqueville in Cambridge''
segment from C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...
's '' Alexis de Tocqueville Tour'' - Features Peter Gomes discussing Sparks and his meeting with Tocqueville.
Website for the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore
(Unitarian and Universalist), West Franklin Street and North Charles Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
Oil portrait of Jared Sparks
by Francis Alexander at University of Michigan Museum of Art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) is one of the largest university art museums in the United States, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with . Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, Jared
1789 births
1866 deaths
People from Willington, Connecticut
American Unitarians
Phillips Exeter Academy alumni
Harvard College alumni
19th-century American historians
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Historians of the American Revolution
Presidents of Harvard University
Harvard University Department of History faculty
Chaplains of the United States House of Representatives
Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery
American male non-fiction writers
19th-century American male writers
Hasty Pudding alumni
Historians from Connecticut
Members of the American Philosophical Society