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Thoreau Biography & Facts

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument in favor of citizen disobedience against an unjust state. Thoreau's books, articles, essays, journals, and poetry amount to more than 20 volumes. Among his lasting contributions are his writings on natural history and philosophy, in which he anticipated the methods and findings of ecology and environmental history, two sources of modern-day environmentalism. His literary style interweaves close observation of nature, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore, while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and attention to practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time he advocated abandoning waste and illusion in order to discover life's true essential needs. Thoreau was a lifelong abolitionist, delivering lectures that attacked the fugitive slave law while praising the writings of Wendell Phillips and defending the abolitionist John Brown. Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. Thoreau is sometimes referred to as an anarchist. In "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau wrote: "I heartily accept the motto,—'That government is best which governs least;' and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe,—'That government is best which governs not at all;' and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.... But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government." Pronunciation of his name Amos Bronson Alcott and Thoreau's aunt each wrote that "Thoreau" is pronounced like the word thorough ( THURR-oh—in General American, but more precisely THOR-oh—in 19th-century New England). Edward Waldo Emerson wrote that the name should be pronounced "Thó-row", with the h sounded and stress on the first syllable. Among modern-day American English speakers, it is perhaps more commonly pronounced thə-ROH—with stress on the second syllable. Physical appearance Thoreau had a distinctive appearance, with a nose that he called his "most prominent feature". Of his appearance and disposition, Ellery Channing wrote: His face, once seen, could not be forgotten. The features were quite marked: the nose aquiline or very Roman, like one of the portraits of Caesar (more like a beak, as was said); large overhanging brows above the deepest set blue eyes that could be seen, in certain lights, and in others gray,—eyes expressive of all shades of feeling, but never weak or near-sighted; the forehead not unusually broad or high, full of concentrated energy and purpose; the mouth with prominent lips, pursed up with meaning and thought when silent, and giving out when open with the most varied and unusual instructive sayings. Life Early life and education, 1817–1837 Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts, into the "modest New England family" of John Thoreau, a pencil maker, and Cynthia Dunbar. His father was of French Protestant descent. His paternal grandfather had been born on the UK crown dependency island of Jersey. His maternal grandfather, Asa Dunbar, led Harvard's 1766 student "Butter Rebellion", the first recorded student protest in the American colonies. David Henry was named after his recently deceased paternal uncle, David Thoreau. He began to call himself Henry David after he finished college; he never petitioned to make a legal name change. He had two older siblings, Helen and John Jr., and a younger sister, Sophia Thoreau. None of the children married. Helen (1812–1849) died at age 37, from tuberculosis. John Jr. (1814–1842) died at age 27, of tetanus after cutting himself while shaving. Henry David (1817–1862) died at age 44, of tuberculosis. Sophia (1819–1876) survived him by 14 years, dying at age 56, of tuberculosis. He studied at Harvard College between 1833 and 1837. He lived in Hollis Hall and took courses in rhetoric, classics, philosophy, mathematics, and science. He was a member of the Institute of 1770 (now the Hasty Pudding Club). According to legend, Thoreau refused to pay the five-dollar fee (approximately equivalent to $153 in 2023) for a Harvard master's diploma, which he described thus: Harvard College offered it to graduates "who proved their physical worth by being alive three years after graduating, and their saving, earning, or inheriting quality or condition by having Five Dollars to give the college". He commented, "Let every sheep keep its own skin", a reference to the tradition of using sheepskin vellum for diplomas. Thoreau's birthplace still exists on Virginia Road in Concord. The house has been restored by the Thoreau Farm Trust, a nonprofit organization, and is now open to the public. Return to Concord, 1837–1844 The traditional professions open to college graduates—law, the church, business, medicine—did not interest Thoreau,: 25  so in 1835 he took a leave of absence from Harvard, during which he taught at a school in Canton, Massachusetts, living for two years at an earlier version of today's Colonial Inn in Concord. His grandfather owned the earliest of the three buildings that were later combined. After he graduated in 1837, Thoreau joined the faculty of the Concord public school, but he resigned after a few weeks rather than administer corporal punishment.: 25  He and his brother John then opened the Concord Academy, a grammar school in Concord, in 1838.: 25  They introduced several progressive concepts, including nature walks and visits to local shops and businesses. The school closed when John became fatally ill from tetanus in 1842 after cutting himself while shaving. He died in Henry's arms. Upon graduation Thoreau returned home to Concord, where he met Ralph Waldo Emerson through a mutual friend. Emerson, who was 14 years his senior, took a paternal and at times patron-like interest in Thoreau, advising the young man and introducing him to a circle of local writers and thinkers, including Ellery Channing, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne and his son Julian Hawthorne, who was a boy at the time. Emerson urged Thoreau to contribute essays and poems to a quarterly periodical, The Dial, and lobbied the editor, Margaret Fuller, to publish those writings. Thoreau's first essay published in The Dial was "Aulus Persius Flaccus", a.... Discover the Thoreau popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Thoreau books.

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  • Finding Margaret Fuller synopsis, comments

    Finding Margaret Fuller

    Allison Pataki

    A “sweeping” (Entertainment Weekly) novel of America’s forgotten leading lady, the central figure of a movement that defined a nationfrom the New York Times bestselling author of T...

  • Walden by henry david thoreau synopsis, comments

    Walden by henry david thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau & AtoZ Classics

    Walden (also known as Life in the Woods) by Henry David Thoreau is one of the bestknown nonfiction books written by an American. Published in 1854, it details Thoreau's life fo...

  • Away Off Shore synopsis, comments

    Away Off Shore

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    A book about a tiny island with a huge history, from the New York Times bestselling author of Valiant Ambition and In the Hurricane's Eye.“For everyone who loves Nan...

  • The Wisdom of Thoreau synopsis, comments

    The Wisdom of Thoreau

    Philosophical Library

    A collection of wise words on solitude, simplicity, nature, and life at Walden from the leader of the transcendentalist movement.  In excerpts collected here from his mos...

  • The Complete Henry David Thoreau synopsis, comments

    The Complete Henry David Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau

    THE COMPLETE WORKS! Essays, Collections, Poetry, Translations, Letters, Journal and Biographical Sketch. The Ultimate Collection of Henry David Thoreau In One Beautifully Formatte...

  • Cabin Porn synopsis, comments

    Cabin Porn

    Zach Klein, Steven Leckart & Noah Kalina

    Are you yearning for a simpler existence? Find the rural escape of your dreams in this beautiful book from the creators of the wildly popular tumblr Cabin Porn.Created by a group o...

  • Expect Great Things synopsis, comments

    Expect Great Things

    Kevin Dann

    To coincide with the bicentennial of Thoreau's birth in 2017, this thrilling, meticulous biography by naturalist and historian Kevin Dann fills a gap in our understanding of one mo...

  • The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861 synopsis, comments

    The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861

    Henry David Thoreau, Damion Searls & John R. Stilgoe

    The largest onevolume edition of Thoreau’s 25year journal, with “some of the most vigorous and original prose in English” and insights into the origins of Walden and other works (W...

  • Thoreau at Walden synopsis, comments

    Thoreau at Walden

    John Porcellino

    "I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship, but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely." So said Henry David T...

  • 50 Classic Autobiographies synopsis, comments

    50 Classic Autobiographies

    Mark Twain & Charles Darwin

    An anthology of 50 classic autobiographies with an active table of contents to make it easy to quickly find the book you are looking for.The Americanization of Edward Bok by Edward...

  • Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Thoreau

    Antonio Casado da Rocha

    Si un individuo pasea por los bosques por amor a ellos la mitad de cada día, corre el riesgo de que le consideren un holgazán; pero si se pasa todo el día especulando, cortando eso...

  • American Canopy synopsis, comments

    American Canopy

    Eric Rutkow

    This fascinating and groundbreaking work tells the remarkable story of the relationship between Americans and their trees across the entire span of our nation’s history. Like many ...

  • The Greatest Essays of Henry David Thoreau - 26 Influential Titles in One Edition synopsis, comments

    The Greatest Essays of Henry David Thoreau - 26 Influential Titles in One Edition

    Henry David Thoreau

    Musaicum Books presents to you this carefully created volume of "The Greatest Essays of Henry David Thoreau 26 Influential Titles in One Edition". This ebook has been desi...

  • Thoreau on Wolf Hill synopsis, comments

    Thoreau on Wolf Hill

    B. B. Oak

    Far from the tranquility of Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau confronts the chilling reality of an epidemic. . .as well as coldblooded murder.The winter of 1847 has brought a consum...

  • Walden and Beyond synopsis, comments

    Walden and Beyond

    Henry David Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau’s <i>Walden</i> is surely one of the most preeminent works of American literature, relating his reallife “experiment” of living a life of both simpl...

  • Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Thoreau

    Michel Onfray

    Criticare l’utilità mercantile, disobbedire all’autorità: i due grandi insegnamenti di Thoreau.È ancora possibile distinguersi dai più e plasmare la propria vita secondo le proprie...

  • Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Thoreau

    Samuel Arthur Jones

    This brief historical work is a biographical sketch of Henry David Thoreau. It was written by Samuel Arthur Jones in the early 20th century in order to clarify certain facts about ...

  • Thoreau and the Language of Trees synopsis, comments

    Thoreau and the Language of Trees

    Richard Higgins

    Trees were central to Henry David Thoreau’s creativity as a writer, his work as a naturalist, his thought, and his inner life. His portraits of them were so perfect, it was as if h...

  • The Portable Thoreau synopsis, comments

    The Portable Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau & Jeffrey S. Cramer

    An updated edition of Thoreau's most widely read worksSelfdescribed as "a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot," Henry David Thoreau dedicated his life to...

  • Works of Henry David Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Works of Henry David Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau

    This collection was designed for optimal navigation on iPad and other electronic devices. It is indexed alphabetically, chronologically and by category, making it easier to access...

  • Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Thoreau

    A. Dan

    "To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, indepe...

  • The Collected Works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

    This meticulously edited collection has been formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: Introduction: The Life and Work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich...

  • A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers synopsis, comments

    A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

    Henry David Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau’s <i>A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers</i> was his first booklength work (published in 1849), prior to his more wellknown <i>Walden,&...

  • A Friend of the Earth synopsis, comments

    A Friend of the Earth

    T.C. Boyle

    One of LitHub’s "365 Books to Start Your Climate Change Library"“Fiction about ecological disaster tends to be written in a tragic key. Boyle, by contrast, favors the darkly comic....

  • Magnificent Rebels synopsis, comments

    Magnificent Rebels

    Andrea Wulf

    A NEW YORKER ESSENTIAL READ From the bestselling author of The Invention of Nature comes an exhilarating story about a remarkable group of young rebelspoets, novelists, philo...

  • The Essays of Henry D. Thoreau synopsis, comments

    The Essays of Henry D. Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau & Lewis Hyde

    Thoreau's major essays annotated and introduced by one of our most vital intellectuals.With The Essays of Henry D. Thoreau, Lewis Hyde gathers thirteen of Thoreau's finest short pr...

  • The Maine Woods synopsis, comments

    The Maine Woods

    Henry David Thoreau

    Published posthumously, <i>The Maine Woods</i> was based on essays which had originally been published during his lifetime in <i>The Union Magazine</i> and ...

  • Thoreau on Nature synopsis, comments

    Thoreau on Nature

    Henry David Thoreau & Nick Lyons

    “How important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomena to the preservation of moral and intellectual health!” Henry David ThoreauSince his ...

  • The Collected Works of Henry David Thoreau synopsis, comments

    The Collected Works of Henry David Thoreau

    Henry David Thoreau

    The Collected Works of Henry David Thoreau is a collection of classic works by one of the greatest writers in history. The included works of Henry David Thoreau are Walden, Civil D...

  • Thoreau synopsis, comments

    Thoreau

    Annie Russell Marble

    This early 20thcentury work is a look into the life and home of Henry David Thoreau.

  • Thoreau in Phantom Bog synopsis, comments

    Thoreau in Phantom Bog

    B. B. Oak

    Henry David Thoreau’s impassioned activism in the Underground Railroad leads him away from the banks of Walden Pond into a morass of murder…In the spring of 1848, Thoreau returns t...

  • Cape Cod synopsis, comments

    Cape Cod

    Henry David Thoreau

    Published posthumously, <i>Cape Cod</i> consists of essays which had originally been published during his lifetime in <i>Putnam’s Magazine</i> and <i>...