Henry Adams was an academic and journalist who was well-known in the United States. He was also a historian and a writer. His books “Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres” and “Democracy: An American Novel” are well-known. In 1919, after he had died, he was given the Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography, “The Education of Henry Adams.” In this book, he talked about how it might be possible to use the scientific method to study history. The name for this view of Adam is “Dynamic Theory of History.” In his book “Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres,” he goes into detail about Christianity in the 1300s. This famous person went to Harvard and came from a political family. He or she worked as a correspondent for the “Boston Daily Courier.” As his father’s private secretary, he learned a lot about different social and political issues around the world. His father was a Minister of Great Britain. As an assistant professor at Harvard University, he put in place a number of systems that were important for the growth of higher education. He was a strong backer of Cuba’s right to be free. As a freelance political journalist, his work about money issues in the United States won him a lot of praise. Also, he wrote a number of articles that show what he thought about the Panic of 1893 and the gold standard.
Early years and childhood
Henry Adams was the son of Charles Francis Adams Sr. and Abigail Brooks. His family was one of the most well-known in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a politician and a lawyer.
Since he was a child, he spent a lot of time in the library that his family-owned. He read a lot, so for him, this library was like a treasure chest. It helped him learn more about Greek and Roman literature, politics, physics, math, and astronomy, among other things.
During a trip with his father in 1850, he went to Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
He learned more about slavery because of this trip.
In June 1854, he got his diploma from Boston’s private E.S. Dixwell Latin School. He went to Harvard University in the same year.
In 1858, he got a high grade from Harvard University. After that, he went to Germany to study law at Berlin University. He went on trips all over Germany, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland for two years.
Henry Adams’s Career
Henry started working for his father when his father became a Minister to Great Britain. From 1861 to 1868, he worked in this job. He also worked as a reporter for the “Boston Daily Advertiser” while he was in Washington.
After that, he went to England where he worked for “The New York Times” as a correspondent. At that time, he wrote a number of essays in which he criticized Congress’s policies and the free trade system.
In 1868, he went back to America and began working as a lobbyist. He also worked as a freelance political journalist at the same time.
At that time, his articles about American money and the New York gold conspiracy were published in a number of journals. He became known as a reformer because of what he wrote. His articles were published in places like “The Nations” and “The New York Evening Post.”
In 1870, he became an assistant professor of history at Harvard. He worked at Harvard for six years and taught things like European and American history and medieval English. He also worked as an editor for the “North American Review” at the same time. In 1877, he quit his job at Harvard University.
Under the name Frances Snow Compton, he wrote “Esther: A Novel,” which came out in 1884. A young socialite is at the center of this funny story.
The time he spent with Marau Taaroa gave him ideas for his 1893 book, “Memoirs of Marau Taaroa, Last Queen of Tahiti.”
In 1907, he paid for copies of his autobiography, “The Education of Henry Adams,” to be distributed.
He wrote “Mont Saint Michel and Chartres: A Study of Thirteenth-Century Unity,” which came out in 1913.
Works of note
In 1880, he published “Democracy: An American Novel” under a false name. In this book, he used made-up characters to show how political power can be abused. This book did well in the marketplace.
Between 1889 and 1891, he put out “History of the United States of America, 1801-1817.” It has 9 volumes and gives a detailed account of how Thomas Jefferson and James Madison ran the government. This book criticizes Jefferson for his role in the Constitutional problems with the Louisiana Purchase.
It does this in simple language. Through this book, Adams also put the blame for the War of 1812 on Madison.
His book “Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres,” which came out in 1904, talks about Christianity in the thirteenth century through the architecture of two famous French cathedrals.
Awards & Achievements
The Education of Henry Adams, his memoirs that came out after his death, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1919.
Personal History and Legacies
He was the grandson of John Quincy Adams, who was the sixth president of the United States, and the great-grandson of John Adams, who was the second president.
The two got married on June 27, 1872. In 1885, she killed herself.
In 1912, he got cerebral thrombosis, which caused him to lose some movement in his legs.
He died in Washington, D.C., when he was 80 years old.
Estimated Net worth
Henry is one of the wealthiest authors and is on the list of the most popular authors. Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider all say that Henry Adams has a net worth of about $1.5 million.
Trivia
As a professor at Harvard University, this great scholar is thought to have started the seminar system there. He was the first person to stress how important it was for students to evaluate the teacher.