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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| Address |
Boston, Massachusetts , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
May 25, 1803
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| Died | April 27, 1882
(78 years)
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| Contributor | Classical Liberal |
| Last Modifed | Thomas Walker
Dec 16, 2005 03:23pm |
| Tags |
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| Info | Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was a major American poet, philosopher and center of the American Transcendental movement.
Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Most of his ancestors were clergymen as was his father. He was educated in Boston and Harvard, like his father, and graduated in 1821. In 1825 he began to study at the Harvard Divinity School and next year he was licensed to preach by the Middlesex Association of Ministers. In 1829 Emerson married Ellen Louisa Tucker, who died in 1831 from consumption. Emerson became sole pastor at the Second Unitarian Church of Boston in 1830. Three years later he had a crisis of faith, finding that he "was not interested" in the rite of Communion. Emerson's controversial views caused his resignation. In 1835 Emerson married Lydia Jackson and settled with her at the east end of the village of Concord, where he then spent the rest of his life.
Emerson's first book, Nature, a collection of essays, appeared when he was 33. Emerson emphasized individualism and rejected traditional authority. He also believed that people should try to live a simple life in harmony with nature and with others. His lectures 'The American Scholar' (1837) and 'Address at Divinity College' (1838) challenged the Harvard intelligentsia and warned about a lifeless Christian tradition. Harvard ostracized him for many years, but his message attracted young disciples, who joined the informal Transcendental Club (established in 1836). In 1840 Emerson helped Margaret Fuller to launch The Dial (1840-44), an open forum for new ideas on the reformation of society.
In 1841 Emerson published a selection of his earlier lectures and writings under the title Essays. It was followed by Essays: Second Series (1844), a collection of lectures annexed to a reprint of Nature (1849), and Representative Men (1850). In the 1850s he started to gain success as a lecturer. His English Traits, a summary of English character and history, appeared in 1856.Other later works include Conduct Of Life (1860), Society And Solitude (1870), a selection of poems called Parnassus (1874), and Letters And Social Aims, (1876). As an essayist Emerson was a master of style. He encouraged American scholars to break free of European influences and create a new American culture.
Emerson's heath started to fail after the partial burning of his house in 1872. He made his last tour abroad in 1872-1873, and then withdrew more and more from public life. Emerson died on April 27, 1882 in Concord. Miscellanies (1884), a collection of political speeches and Lectures And Biographical Sketches (1884) were published posthumously.
First Appeared on a United States Postage Stamp in 1940.
Vote totals for elections in which was nominated for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1900-1965): 1900-87.
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