author
John H. B. (John Hazlehurst Boneval) Latrobe
1803–1891
A Baltimore lawyer, inventor, and civic leader, he is best remembered for creating the cast-iron "Latrobe Stove," or Baltimore Heater. His long public life also reached into railroads, history, and many of the institutions that shaped nineteenth-century Maryland.
1 Audiobook
A Lost Chapter in the History of the Steamboat
by John H. B. (John Hazlehurst Boneval) Latrobe
About the author
Born in Philadelphia in 1803, John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe was the son of the noted architect and engineer Benjamin Henry Latrobe. He studied at West Point before turning to law, and he built a long career in Baltimore, where he became a prominent attorney and public figure.
Latrobe worked for decades as counsel to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and was also known as an inventor. His best-known invention was the Latrobe Stove, a coal-burning fireplace insert widely called the Baltimore Heater. Beyond law and invention, he was active in cultural and professional life, helping found the Maryland Historical Society and later serving as its president.
He also wrote and spoke on history and public affairs, and his name appears in many parts of nineteenth-century Maryland civic life. Latrobe died in Baltimore in 1891, leaving behind a reputation as a remarkably versatile man of law, ideas, and practical ingenuity.