1. Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

2. Early Life  Born in 1817  Father was moderately successful pencil maker  Mother took in boarders  Harvard in 1833-1837 Major in English Literature and German philosophy Middle of Class but well read… mediocre  Failed teacher because he didn’t believe in punishment

3. Personality/ Ideals  Hard to get along with, Not Personable, Not a “Ladies Man”  Failure with Lectures  Hawthorne once said the he was “intolerable but had great qualities”  Outdoorsman  Viewed writing on creation rather than repetition  Against Conformity (ironic)  Man lived life “one dimensional”

4. “Finding Himself”  Moved to Concord, Mass in 1817  New York (1843) for 6 months  July 4, 1845 moved to Walden, Mass at 28 where he went on a nature quest for 2 years  Wrote Walden  He was offered the chance to go to Europe but declined

5. Thoreau…The Rebel  Protested Mexican War  Refused to pay poll tax in turn jailed for one night  1851 helped two slaves escape in spite of the Fugitive Slave Act  1859 defended John Brown who was involved in hoax with federal arsenal

6. Legacy  1847 Moved in with Emerson Family in exchange for work  1848 Moved in with parents for the rest of life  Had Odd jobs, Enjoyed Record Keeping (weather patterns)  Got Cold in 1860 where Tuberculosis started  Died in 1862 of TB  Inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King