February 16, 1838; Henry Adams is born in Boston
Great-grandson to President John Adams and grandson to President John
Quincy Adams
1858 Graduates Harvard
1858 Civil law student at University of Berlin, publishes article in
American Historical Review, Oct. 1947
1861 Secretary to his father, a congressman
1861 Secretary to his father, minister to Great Britain
1867 Publishes “Captain John Smith,” “British Finance in 1816,” and
“The Bank of England Restriction,” in The North American Review
1868 Moves to Washington working as a journalist and lobbyist
1870 “The Legal Tender Act,” his sister dies, Professor at Harvard,
editor for The North American Review
1872 Marries Marian Hooper
1876 Leaves the North American Review after publishing “The Independents
in the Canvass”.
1879 The Life of Albert Gallatin,
1880 Anonymously publishes Democracy: An American Novel
1884 Esther: A Novel, published under the pseudonym Frances Snow Compton
1885 Marian Adams commits suicide
1886 Commissions Augustus Saint-Gaudens to sculpt a statue of
his wife at her gravesite
1886 Adam’s father dies
1889 History of the United States - Adam’s mother dies
1890-92 Travels throughout the Pacific
1904 Mont Saint Michel and Chartres
1907 The Education of Henry Adams
1909 The Rule of Phase Applied to History
1911 The Life of George Cabot Lodge
1912 Suffers a stroke, becomes partially paralyzed
1918 Dies in Washington
Major Works
The Life of Albert Gallatin-1879
Democracy: An American Novel-1880
John Randolph-1882
Esther: A Novel-1884
History of the USA-1889
Mont Saint Michel and Chartres-1904
The Education of Henry Adams-1907
Adam’s Writing Style & Reputation
Henry Adams, being born into a prominent family, enjoyed the freedom
of financial independence. This allowed him to pursue writing while traveling
abroad to study culture and history. Much of the time Adams spent going
through records and diplomatic correspondences to study economic problems.
Adams liked to write in a point of view that gave the reader an outside
perspective on some issue. Also, he is known for his use of irony in stories
along with a disconnected, cynical tone.
Henry Adams Links
PAL: Perspectives in American Literature; Ch 5. Late Nineteenth Century:
Henry Adams URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/adams.html
The Education of Henry Adams URL: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HADAMS/ha_home.html
URL: http://college.hmco.com/english/heath/syllabuild/iguide/adamsh.html
Works Cited:
“Henry Adams.” Britannica Encyclopedia Online. Online. http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/3/0,5716,3703+1+3665,00.html
Earl, Harbert. N. “Henry Adams.” http://college.hmco.com/english/heath/syllabuild/iguide/adamsh.html
“Henry Adams.” Columbia Encyclopedia Online. Online. http://www.bartleby.com/65/ad/Adams-He.html
“Henry Adams.” Infoplease.com Encyclopedia Online. http://print.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0802431.html
“Henry Adams, Globe Trotter in Space and Time.”
http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/HAdams.htm
Slone, William M. “Henry Adams.” http://cyberschool.4j.lane.edu/~layton/biographies/a/henryadams/henryadams.html