William Livingston Alden (1837–1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, humorist and canoe enthusiast. He was a US diplomat in Rome from 1885 to 1890 and thereafter lived in Europe until shortly before his death.
William Livingston Alden | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 9, 1837  Williamstown |
| Died | January 14, 1908 (aged 70) Buffalo |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Diplomat, author, journalist, writer |
| Employer | |
| Parent(s) | |
| Awards |
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| Position held | consul (Kingdom of Italy, 1885–1889) |
Biography
William Livingston Alden was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts on October 9, 1837.[1] He attended Lafayette College and transferred to Jefferson College after his father, Joseph Alden, was elected president.[2]
He graduated from Jefferson in 1858 and read law in New York City with William M. Evarts, joining the bar in 1860.[3] He practiced law until 1866.[3][4] He then became a journalist, writing for Scribner's Monthly, The Atlantic, New York World and Daily Graphic.[1][3] He later worked on the editorial staff of The New York Times and produced a weekly column called "Minor Topics".[5] He also wrote humor pieces and juvenile fiction.[6] While in New York City he became an early member of the Theosophical Society, an esoteric organization founded by Helena Blavatsky in 1875.[7]
Alden is also credited with bringing the sport of canoeing to the United States.[6][8] He founded the New York Canoe Club in 1871, which was the first canoeing organization in America.[9] He was a founding member of the American Canoe Association and served as its first Commodore.[6][10]
Alden was appointed Consul General in Rome, Italy, by President Grover Cleveland in 1885,[6] a position he held until 1889, and received from the king the cross of chevalier of the order of the Crown of Italy.[11] In 1890 he lived in Paris, writing for the New York Herald until 1893,[11] when he began living and writing in London.[1] He died on January 14, 1908.[6][1]
Works
He is the author of many works, including the following:[11]
- Domestic Explosives (1878)
- Shooting Stars (1879)
- A New Robinson Crusoe (1880)
- Canoe and Flying Proa (1880)
- The Moral Pirates (1881)
- Christopher Columbus (1440-1506): the first American citizen (1881)
- Life of Christopher Columbus (1882)
- The Cruise of the Ghost (1882)
- The Cruise of the Canoe Club (1883)
- The Adventures of Jimmy Brown (1885)
- The Loss of the Swansea (1889)
- Trying to Find Europe (1889)
- A Lost Love (1892)
- Told by the Colonel (1893)
- Freaks (1895)
- Van Wagener's Way (1898)
- The Mystery of Elias G. Roebuck
- His Daughter
References
External links
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