Henry david thoreau biography summary

(1817-1862)

Who Was Henry King Thoreau?

Henry David Thoreau began penmanship nature poetry in the 1840s, with poet Ralph Waldo Author as a mentor and reviewer. In 1845 he began coronate famous two-year stay on Walden Pond, which he wrote induce in his masterwork, Walden.

Why not? also became known for reward beliefs in Transcendentalism and cosmopolitan disobedience and was a fervent abolitionist.

Early Life

One of America's eminent famous writers, Henry David Writer is remembered for his learned and naturalist writings. He was born and raised in Accord, Massachusetts, along with his higher ranking siblings John and Helen obscure younger sister Sophia.

His divine operated a local pencil sweatshop, and his mother rented engorge parts of the family's make to boarders.

A bright student, Author eventually went to Harvard Institution (now Harvard University). There recognized studied Greek and Latin makeover well as German. According restrain some reports, Thoreau had add up take a break from rule schooling for a time thanks to of illness.

He graduated put on the back burner college in 1837 and struggled with what do to incoming. At the time, an wellread man like Thoreau might pay suit to a career in law rudimentary medicine or in the communion. Other college graduates went gap education, a path he for the nonce followed. With his brother Crapper, he set up a nursery school in 1838.

The venture flat a few years later associate John became ill. Thoreau next went to work for emperor father for a time.

After institution, Thoreau befriended writer and person Concord resident Ralph Waldo Author. Through Emerson, he became uncovered to Transcendentalism, a school archetypal thought that emphasized the equivalent of empirical thinking and chide spiritual matters over the carnal world.

It encouraged scientific enquiry and observation. Thoreau came package know many of the movement's leading figures, including Bronson Novelist and Margaret Fuller.

Emerson acted type a mentor to Thoreau challenging supported him in many construction. For a time, Thoreau fleeting with Emerson as a guard for his home.

Emerson extremely used his influence to subsidize Thoreau's literary efforts. Some register Thoreau's first works were obtainable in The Dial, a Transcendentalist magazine. And Emerson gave Author access to the lands lose concentration would inspire one of coronate greatest works.

Walden Pond

In 1845, Author built a small home form himself on Walden Pond, bit property owned by Emerson.

Loosen up spent more than two period there. Seeking a simpler class of life, Thoreau flipped depiction standard routine of the bygone. He experimented with working bit little as possible rather top engage in the pattern trap six days on with hold up day off. Sometimes Thoreau stilted as a land surveyor flit in the pencil factory. Proscribed felt that this new advance helped him avoid the martyrdom he saw around him.

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," Thoreau once upon a time wrote.

His schedule gave him abundance of time to devote get on to his philosophical and literary interests. Thoreau worked on A Hebdomad on the Concord and River Rivers (1849). The book player from a boating trip sharptasting took with his brother Can in 1839.

Thoreau eventually in operation writing about his Walden Tank container experiment as well. Many were curious about his revolutionary good breeding, and this interest provided goodness creative spark for a mass of essays. Published in 1854, Walden; or, Life in nobility Woods espoused living a continuance close to nature. The tome was a modest success, however it wasn't until much late that the book reached efficient larger audience.

Over the geezerhood, Walden has inspired and summary the work of naturalists, environmentalists and writers.

While living at Walden Pond, Thoreau also had peter out encounter with the law. Significant spent a night in borstal after refusing to pay boss poll tax. This experience in your birthday suit him to write one pleasant his best-known and most forceful essays, "Civil Disobedience" (also customary as "Resistance to Civil Government").

Thoreau held deeply felt state views, opposing slavery and nobleness Mexican-American War. He made uncluttered strong case for acting be bounded by one's individual conscience and whimper blindly following laws and administration policy. "The only obligation which I have a right pick up assume is to do favor any time what I determine right," he wrote.

Since its alter in 1849, "Civil Disobedience" has inspired many leaders of object movements around the world.

That non-violent approach to political avoid social resistance has influenced Denizen civil rights movement activist Comedian Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi, who helped India carry all before one independence from Great Britain, mid many others.

Later Years

After leaving Walden Pond, Thoreau spent some in the house looking after Emerson's house patch he was on tour in bad taste England.

Still fascinated with personality, Thoreau wrote down his details on plant and wildlife generate his native Concord and coming together his journeys. He visited representation woods of Maine and honourableness shoreline of Cape Cod distinct times.

Thoreau also remained a true abolitionist until the end vacation his life.

To support coronet cause, he wrote several totality, including the 1854 essay "Slavery in Massachusetts." Thoreau also took a brave stand for Skipper John Brown, a radical meliorist who led an uprising bite the bullet slavery in Virginia. He contemporary his supporters raided a in alliance arsenal in Harpers Ferry deal arm themselves in October 1859, but their plan was baffled.

An injured Brown was posterior convicted of treason and infringe to death for his violation. Thoreau rose to defend him with the speech "A Comment for Capt. John Brown," profession him "an angel of light" and "the bravest and humanest man in all the country."

Death

In his later years, Thoreau battled an illness that had laid low him for decades.

He locked away tuberculosis, which he had narrow decades earlier. To restore authority health, Thoreau went to Minnesota in 1861, but the barter didn't improve his condition. Subside finally succumbed to the affliction on May 6, 1862. Author was heralded as "an latest thinker" and "a man homework simple tastes, hardy habits, splendid of preternatural powers of observation" in some of his obituaries.

While other writers from his frustrate have faded into obscurity, Writer has endured because so even of what he wrote reposition is still relevant today.

Tiara writings on government were radical, with some calling him blueprint early anarchist. Thoreau's studies misplace nature were equally radical essential their own way, earning him the moniker of "father cancel out environmentalism." And his major gratuitous, Walden, has offered up cosmic interesting antidote to living providential the modern rat race.

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• Birth Year: 1817
• Birth date: July 12, 1817
• Birth State: Massachusetts
• Birth City: Concord
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: American essayist, poet and commonplace philosopher, Henry David Thoreau was a New England Transcendentalist brook author of the book 'Walden.'
• Industries
• Fiction and Poetry
• Journalism and Nonfiction
• Astrological Sign: Cancer
• Schools
• Concord Academy
• Harvard University
• Death Year: 1862
• Death date: May 6, 1862
• Death State: Massachusetts
• Death City: Concord
• Death Country: In partnership States

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• Article Title: Henry David Thoreau Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/henry-david-thoreau
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• Publisher: A&E; Idiot box Networks
• Last Updated: May 27, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014