Henry Adams

This is the 14th post in our Author of the Week series.



Henry Adams was born in 1838 in Massachusetts. Two of his great grandparents signed the Constitution and one of them (John Adams) became president. His paternal grandfather (John Quincy Adams) also became president.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1858 and then embarked on a tour of Europe. He eventually became the personal secretary to his father who had a seat in the House of Representatives. Soon after President Lincoln assigned his father as a Senior Ambassador to the United Kingdom, which sent Henry and his father to London. While there he was an anoynmous source for the New York Times about the British government and the happenings within. It was at this time that he realize that the best way for him to provide knowledgeable and conscientious leadership was by being a correspondent and journalist.

He returned to the U.S. as a journalist and in 1870 become a Professor of Medieval History at Harvard. It was here that he is believed to be one of the first men to conduct historical seminar work in the United States. In 1877 he and his wife moved to Washington D.C. where he continued working as a historian and journalist.

It was then that he wrote The History of the United States of American (1801-1817). The nine volumes were published between 1889 and 1891.

He continued to write a number of influential books and papers until 1885 when his wife committed suicide. It was after this that he became a globetrotter never able to quite settle down.

In 1907 he wrote The Education of Henry Adams as a small private copy for friends. It spoke of his life and his beliefs.

He died at the age of 80 in Washington D.C.

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