Harlan Hoge Ballard (May 26, 1853 – February 18, 1934) was an American author. He was founder of the Agassiz Association and served as librarian of the Berkshire Athenaeum for 46 years.
Harlan Hoge Ballard | |
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Born | May 26, 1853 ![]() Athens ![]() |
Died | February 18, 1934 ![]() Pittsfield ![]() |
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Life
editHarlan Hoge Ballard was born on May 26, 1853 in Athens, Ohio. He was the son of the Rev. Addison Ballard and Julia Perkins Ballard, a writer of nature books and temperance fiction.[1] Ballard attended public school in Athens and Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Williams College in 1874.[1][2][3]
Upon graduating, he became principal of Lenox High School until 1880 and principal of Lenox Academy from 1880 to 1886.[1][2][3]
In 1903 he was appointed the first curator of the Berkshire Museum of Natural History and Art.[4][5] He remained as curator until early 1931,[6][7][8] giving up the position when the museum and library became separate institutions.[9]
In 1875, he founded the Agassiz Association, an organization dedicated to the promotion of natural science, especially among young people. By the 1890s, membership numbered over 20,000 people.[10]
On August 20, 1879, he married Lucy Bishop Pike.[4]
In 1886, he left teaching for literary efforts. He edited The Swiss Cross, the Agassiz Association monthly magazine, and the newspaper the New York Observer. He published numerous books, including a translation of Virgil's Aeneid (1930).[2]
He became librarian of the Berkshire Athenaeum on November 1, 1888.[2] He also served as President of the Western Massachusetts Library Club.[11]
Harlan Hoge Ballard died of a heart attack on 18 February 1934 in Pittsfield.[12] He was survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters.[4] A memorial fund was established in his name by his daughter,[9] in about 1952.[13]
Works
editHis published works include:
- Three Kingdoms
- World of Nature
- Open Sesame
- One Thousand Blunders in English
- Barnes Readers
- The Tyler's Jewel
References
edit- ^ a b c Farlow, Charles Frederic; Pope, Charles Henry (1911). Ballard genealogy : William Ballard (1603-1639) of Lynn, Massachusetts and William Ballard (1617-1689) of Andover, Massachusetts and their descendants. Boston Public Library. Boston : C.H. Pope. pp. 161–2, 173.
- ^ a b c d "Translation Not Mr. Ballard's Only Literary Enterprise". Berkshire Eagle. 6 June 1908.
- ^ a b "Ballard, Harlan Hoge," Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
- ^ a b c "Harlan H. Ballard, Librarian, 81, Dies". The New York Times. February 19, 1934. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Athenaeum Trustees". The Pittsfield Sun. June 11, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Bishop Gift to the Museum Forms a Valuable Addition". The Berkshire County Eagle. June 20, 1923. p. 2. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Spending $12,000 on a New Steel Stack for 40,000 More Books at Berkshire Athenaeum". The Berkshire Eagle. July 11, 1925. p. 3. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ "Many View Loan Exhibition At Reception Given for New Director of Berkshire Museum". The Berkshire Eagle. September 1, 1931. p. 4. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "Reptile Case's Popularity Revealed by Fingerprints". The Berkshire Eagle. March 10, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
- ^ Keeney, Elizabeth (1992). The Botanizers: Amateur Scientists in Nineteenth-century America. Univ of North Carolina Press. pp. 140–145. ISBN 978-0-8078-2046-9.
- ^ Library Journal. Library Journal. April 1900. p. 182.
- ^ "Founder of Agassiz Association Dies". Oakland Tribune. 19 February 1934.
- ^ "1,000 Attend Museum Event". The Berkshire Eagle. May 28, 1962. p. 17. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
External links
edit- Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Ballard, Harlan Hoge". The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. pp. 199–200.