Samuel Eliot (historian)
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Samuel Eliot (December 22, 1821 – September 14, 1898) was an American historian, educator, and statesman of
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 ...
and
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
.


Biography

Eliot was born in Boston, the son of
William Havard Eliot William Havard Eliot (1796–1831) was an architect and builder of the Tremont House in Massachusetts, and he participated in the musical life of the city. His father was the banker Samuel Eliot. He was married to Margaret Boies (Bradford) Eli ...
(1796 - 1831) and Margaret Boies (Bradford) Eliot, and the grandson of banker Samuel Eliot. His father built the Tremont House, participated in the musical life of the city, had variants of his names including Hayward, Harvard, Havard, Howard, and Elliott, and died suddenly in 1831 while campaigning for mayor. His mother was a daughter of Alden Bradford.
Charles Eliot Norton Charles Eliot Norton (November 16, 1827 – October 21, 1908) was an American author, social critic, and Harvard professor of art based in New England. He was a progressive social reformer and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries c ...
was Eliot's cousin. Eliot graduated first in the class of 1839 at
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 ...
and, after two years in a
counting house Counting is the process of determining the number of Element (mathematics), elements of a finite set of objects; that is, determining the size (mathematics), size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (men ...
in Boston, toured for four years in Europe in the early 1840s. During the decade following his return, he devoted himself to writing. However, on June 7, 1853, Eliot married Emily Marshall Otis (1832-1906) of Boston, and his writing career gradually drew to a close. Their daughter, Emily Marshall Eliot Morison, was the mother of noted historian
Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...
(1887–1976). In 1856, Eliot became professor of history and political science at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, and then served as Trinity's president from 1860 to 1864. In 1864 Eliot returned to Boston, though he continued to teach classes at Trinity until 1874. At Harvard, he was an overseer from 1866 to 1872 and a lecturer in history from 1870 to 1873. He also served from 1868 to 1872 as president of the American Social Science Association. From 1872 to 1876 he served as headmaster of the Boston Girls' High and Normal School, and from 1878 to 1880 as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, later serving from 1885 to 1888 on the Boston School Committee. Eliot was a trustee of
Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...
and of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded, and for 26 years a member and president of the board of trustees of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. He was also active as a trustee, director, etc., for
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...
, the
Boston Athenaeum Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
, 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 ...
, the Massachusetts Bible Society, and the
Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street ...
. Eliot died of heart trouble on September 14, 1898, at Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, and is buried at
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 ...
.


Selected works

* ''Translations from the Spanish Poet José Zorilla'', (1846). * ''Passages from the History of Liberty'', (1847). * ''The Liberty of Rome'', (2 volumes, 1849) which was revised to form Part I of the ''History of Liberty: Part I, The Ancient Romans; Part II, The Early Christians'', (4 volumes, 1853). * ''Manual of United States History: From 1492 to 1850'', (1856). * ''Manual of the United States: From 1492 to 1872'', (1874). * ''Poetry for Children'', (1879). * ''Selections from American Authors: A Reading Book for School and Home'', (1879). * ''The Arabian Nights' Entertainments: Six Stories'', (1880).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, Samuel 1821 births 1898 deaths 19th-century American historians 19th-century American male writers Writers from Boston Writers from Hartford, Connecticut Eliot family (United States) Harvard College alumni Historians from Massachusetts Presidents of Trinity College (Connecticut) Boston Public Schools superintendents American male non-fiction writers Historians from Connecticut Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery