author
James Kendall Hosmer
1834–1927
A Civil War veteran, librarian, and historian, he spent decades turning America’s past into lively, readable books. His career moved from the pulpit and the classroom to the Minneapolis Public Library, where he also became a national library leader.
1 Audiobook
The Last Leaf Observations, during Seventy-Five Years, of Men and Events in America and Europe
by James Kendall Hosmer
About the author
Born in Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1834, James Kendall Hosmer studied at Harvard College and Harvard Divinity School before beginning his career as a Unitarian minister. During the Civil War he served in the Union Army, and after the war he moved into teaching, holding posts at Antioch College, the University of Missouri, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Hosmer is best remembered as a historian and man of letters. He wrote widely on American history and biography, including books on Samuel Adams, Thomas Hutchinson, and the Lewis and Clark expedition, with a style aimed at general readers as well as scholars. His work reflected a lifelong interest in how national history could be told through vivid lives and decisive events.
He also played an important role in library work. From 1892 to 1904 he directed the Minneapolis Public Library, and he later served as president of the American Library Association. He died in 1927, leaving behind a career that joined public service, education, and historical writing.