George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian and statesman. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, he was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state and at the national level. During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of the Navy, he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1845. Among his best-known writings is the massive series History of the United States. October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in Leap years). ... 1800 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A historian is a person who studies history. ... The term statesman is a respectful term used to refer to diplomats, politicians, and other notable figures of state. ... Motto: Nickname: The Heart of the Commonwealth, The City of the Seven Hills, Wormtown, Woo-town, Wortown (war-town), The City of Diners Founded Incorporated 1673 1722  County Worcester County Borough Parrish Mayor Timothy P. Murray (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 99. ... Secondary education is a period of education which, in most contemporary educational systems of the world, follows directly after primary education, and which may be followed by tertiary, post-secondary, or higher education (e. ... Flag of the United States Secretary of the Navy. ... The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is located in Annapolis, Maryland. ... City nickname: Americas Sailing Capital Location in the state of Maryland Founded 1649 Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 19. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Early life and education

His family had been in America since 1632, and his father, Aaron Bancroft, was distinguished as a revolutionary soldier, clergyman and author. George was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, at Harvard University, at Heidelberg, Göttingen and Berlin. At Göttingen he studied Plato with Heeren, New Testament Greek with Eichhorn and natural science with Blumenbach. Having entered Harvard College at thirteen years of age, he had attained much knowledge by 1822. World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... Phillips Exeter Academy (also called Exeter, Phillips Exeter, or PEA) is a co-educational independent boarding school for grades 9-12, located on 471. ... Squamscott River Falls in 1907, Exeter, NH Exeter is a town located in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... Heidelberg (halfway between Stuttgart and Frankfurt) is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. ... Landmark Gänseliesel fountain at the main market Göttingen ( â–¶) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Plato (Greek: Πλάτων Plátōn) (ca. ... The lunar farside as seen from Apollo 11 Natural science is the study of the physical, nonhuman aspects of the Earth and the universe around us. ... 1822 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Bancroft concluded his years of preparation by a European tour, in the course of which he received kind attention from almost every distinguished man in the world of letters, science and art; among others, from Goethe, Humboldt, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Byron, Niebuhr, Bunsen, Savigny, Cousin, Constant and Manzoni. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe â–¶(?) (IPA: ) (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German novelist, dramatist, poet, humanist, scientist, philosopher, and for ten years chief minister of state at Weimar. ... Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (November 21, 1768 - February 12, 1834) was a theologian and philosopher. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel The new HegelWiki Hegel by HyperText, reference archive on Marxists. ... Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ... Barthold Georg Niebuhr. ... Christian Charles Josias, Baron von Bunsen (August 25, 1791 - November 28, 1860), Prussian diplomatist and scholar, was born at Korbach, an old town in the little German principality of Waldeck. ... Friedrich Karl von Savigny Friedrich Karl von Savigny (February 21, 1779 - 25 October 1861) was a German jurist. ... Victor Cousin Victor Cousin (November 28, 1792 - January 13, 1867) was a French philosopher. ...

Bancroft’s father was a Unitarian, and he had devoted his son to the work of the ministry; but the young man's first experiments at preaching, shortly after his return from Europe in 1822, were unsatisfactory, the theological teaching of the time having substituted criticism and literature for faith. Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ... 1822 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

Career in education and literature

His first position was that of tutor in Harvard. Instinctively a humanist, Bancroft had little patience with the narrow curriculum of Harvard in his day and the rather pedantic spirit with which classical studies were there pursued. Moreover, he had brought from Europe a new manner, full of the affections of ardent youth, and this he wore without ease in a society highly satisfied with itself; the young knight-errant was therefore subjected to considerable ridicule. Harvard, see Harvard (disambiguation) Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Humanism is a system of thought that defines a socio-political doctrine (-ism) whose bounds exceed those of locally developed cultures, to include all of humanity and all issues common to human beings. ... A satellite composite image of Europe // Etymology Picture of Europa, carried away by bull-shaped Zeus. ...

A little volume of poetry, translations and original pieces, published in 1823 gave its author no fame. As time passed, and custom created familiarity, his style, personal and literary, was seen to be the outward symbol of a firm resolve to preserve a philosophic calm, and of an enormous underlying energy which spent itself in labour. He found the conversational atmosphere of Cambridge uncongenial, and with a friend he established the Round Hill school at Northampton, Massachusetts. This was the first serious effort made in the United States to elevate secondary education to the plane on which it belonged. 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Northampton, Massachusetts Main Street Northampton is a city located in Hampshire County, Massachusetts in the USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 28,978. ...

In spite of the exacting and severe routine of the Round Hill school, Bancroft contributed frequently to the North American Review and to Walsh's American Quarterly; he also made a translation of Heeren's work on The Politics of Ancient Greece. In 1834 appeared the first volume of the History of the United States (1834-74). The work covers the period from the discovery of the Continent to the conclusion of the Revolutionary War in 1782. His other great work is The History of the Formation of the Constitution of the United States (1882). His writing is clear and vigorous, and his facts generally accurate, but he is a good deal of a partisan. First issue of the North American Review with signature of its editor William Tudor (1779-1830). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1882 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Career in politics

In 1844, he was the Democratic candidate for the governorship, but he was defeated. In 1845 he entered Polk's cabinet as Secretary of the Navy, serving until 1846, when for a month he was acting Secretary of War. During this short period in the cabinet he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, gave the orders which led to the occupation of California, and sent Zachary Taylor into the debatable land between Texas and Mexico. He also continued his pleadings for the annexation of Texas, as extending “the area of freedom,” and though a Democrat, took high moral ground as to slavery; he likewise made himself the authority on the North-Western Boundary question. 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Flag of the United States Secretary of the Navy. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Secretary of War was a member of the Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. ... The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and is located in Annapolis, Maryland. ... City nickname: Americas Sailing Capital Location in the state of Maryland Founded 1649 Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 19. ... State nickname: The Golden State Official languages English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 4. ... Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850), also known as Old Rough and Ready, was the twelfth President of the United States, serving from 1849 to 1850. ... ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ...

In 1846 he was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary to London, where he lived in constant companionship with Macaulay and Hallam. On his return in 1849 he withdrew from public life, residing in New York. 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ...

In April of 1864, at Bancroft's request, President Lincoln wrote out what would become the fourth of five known manuscripts of the Gettysburg Address. Mr. Bancroft planned to include this copy in "Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors," which he planned to sell at a Soldiers' and Sailors' Sanitary Fair in Baltimore. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... The only known photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg (seated, center), taken about noon, just after Lincoln arrived and some three hours before he spoke. ...

In 1866, Bancroft was chosen by Congress to deliver the special eulogy on Lincoln; and in 1867 he was appointed minister to Berlin, where he remained until his resignation in 1874. Then he lived in Washington, DC and Newport, dying at Washington on January 17, 1891. 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... 1874 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

His latest official achievements are considered the greatest. In the San Juan arbitration he displayed great versatility and skill, winning his case before the emperor with brilliant ease. The naturalization treaties, named the "Bancroft treaties" in his honor, which he negotiated successively with Prussia and the other north German states were the first international recognition of the right of expatriation, a principle since incorporated in the law of nations. The Bancroft treaties, also called the Bancroft conventions, were a series of agreements between the United States and other countries that 1) recognized the right of each partys nationals to become naturalized citizens of the other; and 2) defined circumstances in which naturalized persons were legally presumed to have... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ...

Several ships have been named USS Bancroft for him. Several ships of United States Navy were named USS Bancroft for George Bancroft: The first Bancroft was a gunboat, launched in 1892, commissioned in 1893 and decommissioned in 1906. ...

References