author
James B. (James Burton) Pond
1838–1903
A Civil War officer who later became one of America’s best-known lecture managers, he moved from battlefield heroics to the busy world of writers, explorers, and public speakers. His career linked him with figures such as Mark Twain, Henry Morton Stanley, and Winston Churchill.
1 Audiobook
Eccentricities of genius : memories of famous men and women of the platform and stage
by James B. (James Burton) Pond
About the author
Born in New York in 1838, James B. Pond first worked as a printer and journalist before serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He fought with the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, survived the violence at Baxter Springs, and received the Medal of Honor for his actions there.
After the war, Pond built a very different kind of public life. He became a leading lecture manager, often known as Major Pond, and helped organize speaking tours for major authors, preachers, explorers, and statesmen. Records from archives and biographical sources describe him as an important force in the American lecture circuit in the late 19th century.
He also wrote about the famous personalities he worked with, leaving behind memoirs and correspondence that still interest historians today. Pond died in 1903, remembered both for wartime bravery and for shaping the culture of public lectures and literary appearances in the United States.