Samuel Eliot
Encyclopedia
Samuel Eliot was a historian, educator, and public-minded citizen of Boston, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut
.
, 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
and granddaughter of Harrison Gray Otis. Charles Eliot Norton
was Eliot's cousin.
Eliot graduated first in the class of 1839 at Harvard College
and, after two years in a counting house
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
(1887–1976).
In 1856, Eliot became professor of history and political science at Trinity College
in Hartford, Connecticut
, and then served as Trinity's president from 1860-1864. 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 1870-1873. He also served from 1868-1872 as president of the American Social Science Association
. From 1872-1876 he served as headmaster of the Boston Girls' High and Normal School, and from 1878-1880 as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, later serving from 1885-1888 on the Boston School Committee.
Eliot was a trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital
and of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded, and for 26 years president of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. He was also active as a trustee, director, etc., for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, the Boston Athenaeum, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the Massachusetts Bible Society
, and the Massachusetts Historical Society
.
Eliot died of heart trouble on September 14, 1898 at Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
.
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
.
Biography
Eliot was born in Boston, the son of William Havard Eliot (1796 - 1831) and Margaret Boies (Bradford) Eliot. His father built the Tremont HouseTremont House
Tremont House , sometimes called the Tremont Hotel, was a highly influential hotel designed in 1829 by Isaiah Rogers in Boston, Massachusetts...
, 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
Alden Bradford
Alden Bradford was an American politician, clergyman and author who served as the 5th Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. Born in Duxbury, MA, he graduated from Harvard in 1786 and received a degree of LL.D. there. He was then ordained as a Congregational church pastor, serving in...
and granddaughter of Harrison Gray Otis. Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton, was a leading American author, social critic, and professor of art. He was a militant idealist, a progressive social reformer, and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries considered the most cultivated man in the United States.-Biography:Norton was born at...
was Eliot's cousin.
Eliot graduated first in the class of 1839 at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and, after two years in a counting house
Counting house
A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building, room, office or suite in which a business firm carries on operations, particularly accounting. By a synecdoche, it has come to mean the accounting operations of a firm, however housed...
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
Samuel Eliot Morison, Rear Admiral, United States Naval Reserve was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history that were both authoritative and highly readable. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and taught history at the university for 40 years...
(1887–1976).
In 1856, Eliot became professor of history and political science at Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, and then served as Trinity's president from 1860-1864. 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 1870-1873. He also served from 1868-1872 as president of the American Social Science Association
American Social Science Association
In 1865, at Boston, Massachusetts, a society for the study of social questions was organized and given the name American Social Science Association. The group grew to where its membership totaled about 1,000 persons. About 30 corresponding members were located in Europe...
. From 1872-1876 he served as headmaster of the Boston Girls' High and Normal School, and from 1878-1880 as superintendent of Boston Public Schools, later serving from 1885-1888 on the Boston School Committee.
Eliot was a trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
and of the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded, and for 26 years president of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. He was also active as a trustee, director, etc., for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, the Boston Athenaeum, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the Massachusetts Bible Society
Massachusetts Bible Society
The Massachusetts Bible Society is a Christian, ecumenical organization founded on July 6, 1809 at a ceremony in the Representatives Chamber of the Massachusetts State House...
, and the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
.
Eliot died of heart trouble on September 14, 1898 at Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
.
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).