Nathan Haskell Dole (August 31, 1852 – May 9, 1935) was an American editor,

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

, and author. A writer and journalist in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

Boston 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 ...

, he translated many of the works of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

and books of other Russians; novels of the Spaniard Armando Palacio Valdés (1886–90); a variety of works from the French and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Biography

Nathan Haskell Dole was born August 31, 1852, in

Chelsea, Massachusetts Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in ...

. He was the second son of the Reverend Nathan Dole (1811–1855) and mother Caroline (Fletcher) Dole, his older brother being Charles Fletcher Dole (1845–1927). After their father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, their mother moved with the two boys to live with their grandmother in the Fletcher homestead, a strict

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

home, in

Norridgewock, Maine Norridgewock is a town in Somerset County, Maine, Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,278 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Native Americans Situated on the New England and Acadia border, which Ne ...

, where Dole grew up. Sophie May wrote her Prudy Books in Norridgewock, and they may be an indication of the sort of life Nathan Dole and his brother lived there. A newspaper article about Nathan in the ''Boston Evening Transcript'', February 8, 1929, suggested that Nathan, lively from the start, may have offered good material for the mischievous boys who acted as foil for the goody-good ones in the Prudy Books. The same ''Boston Evening Transcript'' article said that Nathan was an omnivorous reader, who soon taught himself to read in French, German, Greek and Latin. He studied at the Eaton School in Norridgewock, and then under private tutors. Later he went to 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 ...

and

Phillips Andover Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a private, co-educational college-preparatory school for boarding and day students located in Andover, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The academy enrolls ...

, graduating in 1870, and then to

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, from which he graduated in 1874. Years later he received an L.H. Doctorate and from Oglethorp University in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, which made him an Honorary Alumnus. After Harvard, Dole taught at De Veaux College from 1874 to 1875, and at Worcester High School from 1875 to 1876. From 1876 to 1878, he was preceptor at Derby Academy, in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

. In 1881, he left his teaching career to work for the ''Philadelphia Press'', where he was musical art and literary editor. (For a time his work appeared in both the morning and evening edition of the ''Press'', affording him the opportunity of contradicting in the evening paper what he had said in the morning edition, and vice versa. From 1887 to 1901 he was literary advisor to T. Y. Crowell Publishing Company. He was also Secretary of the department of publicity at D. Appleton and Co. for five months in 1901. On June 28, 1882, in

, Dole married Helen James Bennett, a daughter of Frances and William M. Bennett, of Boston. They were married by his brother Charles F. Dole, and Dole stated his occupation as Editor. He was aged 29 and his wife 25.Nathan H Dole
in the ''Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988'', ancestry.com, accessed 11 November 2021 They settled in Boston, where he concentrated on writing, translating, editing, and lecturing. Dole and his family lived in

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...

for many years, spending their summers in

Ogunquit, Maine Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577. Ogunquit is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. History Ogunquit was first a village within ...

. They were popular members of the Boston social and literary set. Their home was full of both music and literature, and was well known for good conversation at the four o'clock teas every afternoon. In 1928, when he was seventy-six, Dole and his wife moved to New York City to be near their daughter and grandchildren and lived in Riverdale-on-Hudson. Dole knew the literary giants

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

(who was his father's instructor in Bowdoin College),

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most ...

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the '' New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poe ...

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Byrd Spilman Dewey Byrd "Birdie" Spilman Dewey (née Julia Bird Spilman; February 16, 1856 – April 1, 1942) was an American author, land investor, and co-developer of the Town of Boynton. She lived in Florida from 1881 until her death in 1942. Her best known w ...

and many others. Dole died May 9, 1935, at St. John's Hospital in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

of a heart attack.

Works

Among his original writings are: * ''Young Folks History of Russia'' (1881) * ''A Score of Famous Composers'' (1891; 1902; 1924) (Enlarged and revised in 1927) * ''Not Angela Quite'' (fiction) (1893) * ''On the Point'' (fiction) (1893) * ''The Hawthorn Tree and other Poems'' (1895) * ''Joseph Jefferson At Home'' (1896) * ''Poem for the Educational Music Courses'' (1896) * ''The Hawthorn Tree and Other Poems'' (1896) * ''Life of Francis William Bird'' (1897) * '' Omar the Tentmaker, A Romance of Old Persia'' (1898; 1921; 1928)
''Joseph Jefferson at Home''
(1898); see

Joseph Jefferson Joseph Jefferson III (February 20, 1829 – April 23, 1905), often known as Joe Jefferson, was an American actor. He was the third actor of this name in a family of actors and managers, and one of the most famous 19th century American comedians ...

.
''The Mistakes We Make''
(1898) * ''Peace and Progress'' (1904) * ''The Latin Poets'' (1905) * ''The Breviary Treasures'' (10 Volumes) (1905; 1906) * ''The Greek Poets'' (1907) * ''Six Italian Essays'' (1907) * ''The Pilgrims and other Poems'' (1907) * ''Our Northern Domain - Alaska - Picturesque, Historic and Commercial'' (1910) * ''Life of Count Tolstoi'' (1911)
''The Spell of Switzerland''
(1913) * ''Rote Songs for Boston Public Schools'' (1915; 1916) * ''America in Spitsbergen'' (Two Volumes) (1922) He contributed to: * ''Boston Evening Transcript'' * ''The Portland News'' * ''The Independent'' * ''The New York Times Literary Supplement'' * Many other magazines. Dole was Associate Editor of: * ''The Internal Library of Famous Literature'' (1890) * ''Flowers from Persia Poets'' (1901) * ''The Young Folks Library'' (1902) * ''The Encyclopedia Americana'' (1905) * ''Vocations'' (1909–1910) (10 Volumes; in collaboration with Pres. Hyde and Caroline Ticknor) * The 10th Edition of ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotation'', with additions. Poems of Dr. Samuel S. Curry, with Biography (1923) His editorial works include: * ''

Omar Khayyám Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) ( Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar Khayyam (), was ...

'' (1896) * Tolstoi's ''Collected Works'' (1899) (20 Volumes) * ''Poetical Works of

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

and Shelley'' (1905) His translations include: * Count Lyof N. Tolstoi: "War and Peace" (New York, Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1889) * B. Schulze-Smidt: ''A Madonna of the Alps'' (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1895) * Paolo Ettore Santangelo: ''Attila, A Romance of Old Aquileia'' (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1929)

References

External links

* *
Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia entry
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dole, Nathan Haskell 1852 births 1935 deaths American male biographers American book editors American male journalists Journalists from New York City 20th-century American poets American translators Harvard University alumni Writers from Chelsea, Massachusetts Phillips Academy alumni Poets from Boston Writers from Maine Poets from New York City Poets from Philadelphia Translators of Leo Tolstoy 20th-century American biographers People from Norridgewock, Maine