author
William W. (William Willder) Wheildon
1805–1892
Drawn to local history and public memory, this 19th-century Massachusetts writer spent decades preserving stories of Boston, Concord, Bunker Hill, and the American Revolution. His books and papers reflect a life shaped by printing, journalism, and a deep interest in the past.
1 Audiobook
Curiosities of History: Boston, September Seventeenth, 1630-1880
by William W. (William Willder) Wheildon
About the author
Born in Boston in 1805 and later closely associated with Concord, Massachusetts, William Willder Wheildon worked as a printer, publisher, editor, journalist, lecturer, and writer on historical and literary subjects. He founded the Bunker Hill Aurora in Charlestown in 1827 and continued publishing it for many years, building a career around the written record of New England life.
Wheildon is best remembered for books centered on American and especially Massachusetts history. His works include Curiosities of History: Boston, September Seventeenth, 1630-1880, Memoir of Solomon Willard, and History of Paul Revere's Signal Lanterns, showing his lasting interest in Revolutionary-era people, places, and monuments.
He also left behind papers that reveal how broad his interests were, from journalism and local history to public events and elections. Wheildon died in Concord in 1892, after a long career devoted to collecting, writing, and preserving pieces of the American past.