Nathan Appleton

author

Nathan Appleton

A key figure in early American industry, this 19th-century merchant helped shape New England's textile boom and later served Massachusetts in Congress. His life connects business ambition, public service, and the rise of the Boston manufacturing world.

1 Audiobook

Russian life and society as seen in 1866-'67 : by Appleton and Longfellow, two young travellers from the United States of America, who had been officers in the Union army, and a journey to Russia with General Banks in 1869. With sketches of Alexander II. and Abraham Lincoln, and emancipation in the empire of Russia and the republic of the United States of America.

Russian life and society as seen in 1866-'67 : by Appleton and Longfellow, two young travellers from the United States of America, who had been officers in the Union army, and a journey to Russia with General Banks in 1869. With sketches of Alexander II. and Abraham Lincoln, and emancipation in the empire of Russia and the republic of the United States of America.

by Nathan Appleton

About the author

Born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, in 1779, Nathan Appleton became an American merchant, politician, and one of the entrepreneurs known as the Boston Associates. He attended local schools and studied briefly at Dartmouth before entering business in Boston.

Appleton is best remembered for helping build the early New England textile industry. Sources describe him as a founder of major manufacturing ventures in Waltham and Lowell, and as an important advocate for the growth of American cotton manufacturing during the early republic.

He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Massachusetts. Beyond business and politics, he is often noted today as the father of Frances Appleton, who later married poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.