author
William Horatio Barnes
1832–1879
A 19th-century American historian and compiler of political biography, he wrote detailed books about Congress, the Supreme Court, and the federal government during the years after the Civil War. His work aimed to make the people and institutions of Washington easier for readers to understand.
1 Audiobook
History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States
by William Horatio Barnes
About the author
Born in 1832 and dying in 1879, William Horatio Barnes is remembered as an American historian whose writing focused on the U.S. government in a transformative period. Library and public-domain author records connect him with substantial works on national politics and public institutions, including History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States.
Barnes also compiled biographical and reference-style volumes such as The Supreme Court of the United States: A Series of Biographies and The American Government, reflecting a strong interest in explaining how the federal system worked and who shaped it. His books are especially useful now as period snapshots of Reconstruction-era politics and public life.
While easily available personal details about his life appear limited in the sources reviewed, his published works show a writer deeply engaged with American government and political history. For listeners interested in firsthand 19th-century interpretations of Congress, courts, and national leadership, his books offer a direct window into that world.