author
F. B. (Franklin Benjamin) Sanborn
1831–1917
A lively voice from the world of abolitionism and New England letters, this writer stood close to many of the great reformers and thinkers of the 19th century. His work preserves both the political struggles and the literary friendships of his era.
1 Audiobook
Henry D. Thoreau
by F. B. (Franklin Benjamin) Sanborn
About the author
Born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, in 1831, Franklin Benjamin Sanborn became a journalist, teacher, author, and reformer whose life was closely tied to the intellectual world of Concord, Massachusetts. After graduating from Harvard in 1855, he settled in Concord, where he moved in the circle of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau and later became an important early biographer and memorialist of the transcendentalists.
Sanborn was deeply involved in public causes. He was an abolitionist and one of the "Secret Six," the group that supported John Brown, though sources note that he did not approve of the raid on Harpers Ferry itself. He also worked in journalism and public service, helped found the American Social Science Association, and was active in charity and reform efforts.
He wrote extensively about the people and movements around him, including books of recollection and biographies that helped shape how later readers understood 19th-century American reform and literature. He died in 1917, leaving behind a vivid record of the moral and literary energy of his time.