Frank Gilbert

author

Frank Gilbert

1839–1899

Best remembered for writing lively, wide-ranging popular history and biography, this 19th-century American author also worked in Chicago journalism. His books reflect an era eager to explain the world to general readers in clear, ambitious terms.

1 Audiobook

Jethro Wood, Inventor of the Modern Plow. A Brief Account of His Life, Services, and Trials; Together with Facts Subsequent to his Death, and Incident to His Great Invention

Jethro Wood, Inventor of the Modern Plow. A Brief Account of His Life, Services, and Trials; Together with Facts Subsequent to his Death, and Incident to His Great Invention

by Frank Gilbert

About the author

Born in 1839 and dying in 1899, Frank Gilbert was an American writer whose surviving works show a strong interest in history, literature, and invention. Records from major library catalogs connect him with books including The World: Historical and Actual, American Literature, and Jethro Wood, Inventor of the Modern Plow.

Gilbert wrote for broad audiences rather than specialists. His books aimed to gather large subjects into readable form, whether he was surveying world history or telling the story of an important American inventor. That makes his work a good fit for readers who enjoy older nonfiction written with a confident, explanatory voice.

He also had a career in journalism in Chicago. Contemporary memorial records describe him as an editorial writer for the Chicago Inter-Ocean, and one edition of The World: Historical and Actual identifies him as a former associate editor of the Chicago Tribune and a former assistant treasurer of the U.S. at Chicago.