Nahum Capen (April 1, 1804,

Canton, Massachusetts Canton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,370 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Canton is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of Downtown Boston. History The area that is present ...

– January 9, 1886) was a writer, editor, bookseller and publisher in Boston.

Biography

After education in his hometown, Canton, Massachusetts, he went to Boston and at age 21 went into the publishing and bookselling business as one of the three partners, along with Bela Marsh and Gardner P. Lyon, in the firm of Marsh, Capen & Lyon. In 1832 Capen met Dr. Spurzheim in Boston, became an enthusiast for

phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

and founded the Boston Phrenological Society. Capen was an editor and author as well as a publisher and frequently contributed to newspapers and magazines. He edited the ''Massachusetts State Record'' from 1847 to 1851 and was the editor-in-chief of the '' Annals of Phrenology''. He wrote several books, of which the most famous is perhaps the ''History of Democracy''. He was, by appointment from

President Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvania in both houses of the U.S. Con ...

, the Postmaster of Boston from 1857 to 1861. As Postmaster, Capen introduced the outside letterbox collection system, the first such system in the

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

. The Ronan Park area on

Meeting House Hill Meeting House Hill is one of the oldest sections of Boston's historic Dorchester, Boston, Dorchester neighborhood. It is the site of the First Parish Church of Dorchester, First Parish Church (est. 1631) and the The Mather School, Mather Scho ...

was once part of Nahum Capen's estate Mount Ida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capen, Nahum 1804 births 1886 deaths American editors Writers from Boston People from Canton, Massachusetts United States Postal Service people