William Mathews

Born in Waterville, Maine, William Mathews was a journalist, writer, and teacher whose long career stretched across much of the 19th century. He studied at Colby College, graduating in 1835, and later earned a law degree from Harvard in 1839.

Before becoming widely known as an essayist, he worked in newspapers in Maine, editing and publishing the Watervillonian and later the Yankee Blade. In 1856 he moved to Chicago, and from 1862 to 1875 he taught English and rhetoric at the University of Chicago.

Mathews wrote on subjects that still feel fresh: how people speak, write, read, and make their way in the world. Among his best-known books are The Great Conversers, and Other Essays, Hours with Men and Books, Oratory and Orators, Literary Style, Getting on in the World, and Words: Their Use and Abuse. Maine State Library describes him as one of the best-selling authors of the 1870s, and his work shows why—he had a gift for making literary and practical subjects sound welcoming and alive.