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Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882)
 Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Emerson was the
son of a Unitarian minister. He attended Boston Latin school, and entered Harvard University at the age of 14. After
graduating from Harvard in 1821, Emerson spent several years as a schoolmaster before attending the Harvard Divinity
School. In 1829, he became a Unitarian minister, following a generations old family tradition.
The next several years were difficult for Emerson. His young wife (Ellen Louisa Tucker) died in 1831, and
in 1832, Emerson left his pastorate because of disputes with his superiors. Soon after, on a trip to Europe,
Emerson met a number of intellectuals, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Stuart Mill,
Thomas Carlyle and William Wordsworth. The ideas of these men, along
with those of Plato and some of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Persian thinkers, is said to have strongly influenced
Emerson in his development of the philosophy of Transcendentalism.
In 1835, Emerson bought a house in Concord, Massachusetts, and quickly became one of the leading citizens in
the town. In the same year, he married his second wife (Lydia Jackson), and in 1836, published
his famous essay "Nature" - the essay which became the foundation for Transcendentalism.
During the 1840's, Emerson was a popular lecturer in New England, speaking on a wide variety of subjects. He became
friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau (the land on which Thoreau built his famous cabin
on Walden Pond actually belonged to Emerson).
Emerson's successful writing and lecture career spanned the next 30 years, punctuated by strong anti-slavery retoric
during the years leading up to the Civil War. Emerson traveled widely, and drew large crowds for his speeches.
He was considered to be one of the great orators of the
time - his deep voice, enthusiasm, and respect for his audience made his lectures a captivating experience. Published
works during this time included Representative Men (1850), English Traits (1856), The Conduct of Life (1860),
Thoreau (1862 - his eulogy for Henry David Thoreau), and Society and Solitude (1870). He also published
a number of poems.
Ralph Waldo Emerson died in 1882 at the age of 78. His final resting place can be found on Author's Ridge in the
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts, not far from the graves of his famous friends Nathanial Hawthorne
and Henry David Thoreau.
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