Henry David Thoreau,  1817-1862

"Writer, philosopher, and naturalist Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. Associated with the Concord-based literary movement called New England Transcendentalism, he embraced the Transcendentalist belief in the universality of creation, and the primacy of personal insight and experience. Thoreau's advocacy of simple, principled living remains compelling, while his writings on the relationship between people and the environment helped define the nature essay."   Library of Congress

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A sign greeting visitors at Walden Pond

DID YOU KNOW?

• In 1844, Thoreau and a friend accidentally set the Concord woods on fire.

• On and off throughout his life, Thoreau worked in his father's pencil factory, and at one point devised a better system for graphite processing. He took over the factory after his father's death in 1859.  Source: MSN Encarta

 UMass Lowell Library Resource Page

Selected Historical New York Times articles on Thoreau
 

Resources on the Web

American Transcendentalism Web

The Thoreau Society

The Walden Woods Project

Life with Principle: Thoreau's Voice in Our Time

Thoreau's Blog

Environmental History Reader