Jacob Abbott
Jacob Abbott ( born November 14, 1803 in Hallowell (Maine), † October 31, 1879 in Farmington, Maine) was an American youth writer and educator.
Life
Jacob Abbott came from a 1640 already emigrated from the British Isles to New England family. His parents were the merchant Jacob Abbot and Betsey Chandler. He visited with his four brothers the Hallowell Academy and then the prestigious general education Bowdoin College ( Brunswick ( Maine) ). He was particularly interested in science, graduated in 1820 as Bachelor of Arts and three years later Master of Arts. During his apprenticeship at Bowdoin College, he changed his family name from Abbot in Abbott. Some of his brothers followed his example. 1820/1821 he was a teacher at the Portland Academy and taught here including the later American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Then Abbott devoted studying theology, which he completed 1821/1922 and 1824 at the Andover Theological Seminary ( Andover ( Massachusetts)).
1824/1825 was Abbott and tutor from 1825 to 1829 professor of mathematics and natural sciences at the not long ago (1821 ) and founded in the city of Amherst ( Massachusetts) located Amherst College. With four faculty colleagues, he investigated the conditions of higher education teaching institutions in the United States but also in Europe. The presented results of their investigations in 1826 criticized the curriculum of Amherst College as antiquated. It should put more emphasis on science and modern history and instead of ancient languages ( Latin, Greek ) living languages such as German and French are taught. Although Abbott's proposals met initially quite on approval and were tentatively implemented from 1827 onwards, but set back two years later due to the associated substantially greater teaching effort and lack of resources at the College. Therefore, Abbott was in the same year (1829 ) to his professorship.
On May 18, 1828, Abbott had a marriage with Harriet Vaughan of Hallowell closed. The marriage produced six children. Two sons, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott and Austin Abbott, were excellent lawyers and author of important law books. Two other sons, Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott, were well-known cleric and writer.
After retiring from the Amherst College Abbott went with his family to Boston and served there from 1829 to 1833 as director of Mount Vernon, which he founded - girls school, the pioneering work for the American women's education made . At that time it was not self-evident that girls were taught at all. In Abbott's Institute hardly conventional disciplinary measures such as the otherwise still dominant punishment were practiced by corporal punishment, but it was trying to achieve in the first place a better education of the students by involving them in behavioral and appeals to their conscience.
1833 Abbott left Boston and turned briefly to a spiritual career. In his religious views he was one of the liberal evangelicals. Already on May 3, 1826, he had been authorized by the Hampshire Association as a preacher. Now in Roxbury (Massachusetts ), he founded the Eliot Congregational Church, where he worked 1834/1835 as pastor. Then he handed over this office his brother John Stevens Cabot Abbott, went on for some time to Farmington in Maine and worked primarily as a writer of youth literature from now. In 1843 he was a widower. This year, he interrupted his literary work to start with his brothers John Abbott and Gorham Dummer Abbott a school, the Abbott Institute, in New York City and to lead. A post he knew to 1851 and was also from 1845 to 1848 director of the Mount Vernon - boys school.
Since 1851, Abbott was only after his literary interests. He married in 1853 in second, childless marriage Mary Dana Woodbury. Until 1870, he lived in New York City and traveled often to Europe. He spent his last years in quiet retirement until his death (1879 ) in Farmington, where his brother Samuel Phillips Abbott founded the Abbott School.
Literary work
Abbott's work comprises a total of 180 volumes, of which found the most widespread use. Several of them have been translated into other languages . Abbott also was co-author or editor of 31 other books and the author of numerous journal articles. So he reached international prominence. His very successful literary debut was in 1832 with the first of four volumes of his Young Christian Series. This book underwent numerous editions in America and Britain, and was also translated into French and Dutch.
The most lasting fame gained Abbott as a youth writer. A versatile author, but he wrote next to biographies, for a wide range of readers thought theological books and some popular works.
Abbott's writings are instructive and have the purpose to win his readers of Christian virtues. At this genre include his since 1834 issued Rollo books ( 28 vols, such as Rollo at Work, Rollo at Play, Rollo in Europe), which were particularly popular. The young protagonist Rollo notice in the course of the series a maturation process and travels with his omniscient Uncle George around the world, with the young readers and elementary facts about geography, history and the natural sciences are taught. The Rollo books were one or two generations of American children as a model for exemplary behavior, as well as light reading and in the tradition about the children's book The History of Sandford and Merton ( 1783-1789 ), the English writer Thomas Day, the turn of the ideas of Jean- Jacques Rousseau was influenced.
Other Works (selection)
- The Franconia stories. 10 volumes.
- Marco Paul 's adventures, 6 volumes.
- Harper's story books. 36 volumes.
- Little learner series. 5 volumes.
Swell
In the commemorative issue of The Young Christian (New York, 1882) is a brief biography of Jacob Abbott from the pen of his son Edward Abbott. Making a good impression of his personality conveys who wrote of his son Lyman Abbott Jacob Abbott essay, Friend of Children, which was published in Silhouettes of My Contemporaries ( 1921). The Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick (Maine) also preserves many manuscripts and personal papers of Abbott.