HIGGINSON

higginson, thomas wentworth (1823-1911), american author and soldier, was born in cambridge, massachusetts, on the 22nd of december 1823. he was a descendant of francis higginson (1588-1630), who emigrated from leicestershire to the colony of massachusetts bay and was a minister of the church of salem, mass., in 1629-1630; and a grandson of stephen higginson (1743-1828), a boston merchant, who was a member of the continental congress in 1783, took an active part in suppressing shay's rebellion, was the author of the "laco" letters (1789), and rendered valuable services to the united states government as navy agent from the 11th of may to the 22nd of june 1798. graduating from harvard in 1841, he was a schoolmaster for two years, studied theology at the harvard divinity school, and was pastor in 1847-1850 of the first religious society (unitarian) of newburyport, massachusetts, and of the free church at worcester in 1852-1858. he was a free soil candidate for congress (1850), but was defeated; was indicted with wendell phillips and theodore parker for participation in the attempt to release the fugitive slave, anthony burns, in boston (1853); was engaged in the effort to make kansas a free state after the passage of the kansas-nebraska bill of 1854; and during the civil war was captain in the 51st massachusetts volunteers, and from november 1862 to october 1864, when he was retired because of a wound received in the preceding august, was colonel of the first south carolina volunteers, the first regiment recruited from former slaves for the federal service. he described his experiences in _army life in a black regiment_ (1870). in politics higginson was successively a republican, an independent and a democrat. his writings show a deep love of nature, art and humanity, and are marked by vigour of thought, sincerity of feeling, and grace and finish of style. in his _common sense about women_ (1881) and his _women and men_ (1888) he advocated equality of opportunity and equality of rights for the two sexes. among his numerous books are _outdoor papers_ (1863); _malbone: an oldport romance_ (1869); life of _margaret fuller ossoli_ (in "american men of letters" series, 1884); _a larger history of the united states of america to the close of president jackson's administration_ (1885); _the monarch of dreams_ (1886); _travellers and outlaws_ (1889); _the afternoon landscape_ (1889), poems and translations; _life of francis higginson_ (in "makers of america," 1891); _concerning all of us_ (1892); _the procession of the flowers and kindred papers_ (1897); _henry wadsworth longfellow_ (in "american men of letters" series, 1902); _john greenleaf whittier_ (in "english men of letters" series, 1902); _a reader's history of american literature_ (1903), the lowell institute lectures for 1903, edited by henry w. boynton; and _life and times of stephen higginson_ (1907). his volumes of reminiscence, _cheerful yesterdays_ (1898), _old cambridge_ (1899), _contemporaries_ (1899), and _part of a man's life_ (1905), are characteristic and charming works. his collected works were published in seven vols. (1900).