Lucius M. (Lucius Manlius) Sargent

Born in Boston in 1786, Lucius Manlius Sargent came from a prominent New England family and was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy before attending Harvard. He later studied law, but he became better known for his life as a writer, editor, and public man than for legal practice.

Sargent built a reputation as an author and antiquarian with a lively, often combative style. He wrote on a wide range of subjects and took a deep interest in history and old books, while also participating in learned circles in Massachusetts.

He is especially associated with the temperance movement, where he became an energetic advocate for reform. Sargent died in 1867, leaving behind the image of a well-read, opinionated nineteenth-century man of letters who used his pen in both literary and moral debates.