Henry David Thoreau

1
Henry David Thoreau

• Biography

2
Place of birth

• Concord, MA

Date of birth

• July 12, 1817

3
Date of death

• May 6, 1862

Place of death

• Concord, MA

Burial location

• Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, MA
• (Bonus who else is buried here?)

4
Interesting facts about childhood

• He worked in his fathers pencil factory
• Graduated from Harvard
• Never married

5
Place(s) where this author lived. Include dates
and explain how each place influenced them.

• Concord, MA childhood
• Boston, MA went to Harvard 1833-37
• Lived w/Emerson 1841-44, 1847-48 E was mentor
• Walden Pond 1845-47 wrote Walden

6
How did this author become inspired to write?

• Nature
• Individualism
• Abolitionism

7
Where applicable, explain any obstacles this
writer faced

• His first two books didnt sell well (A Week on
  the Concord and Merrimack Rivers and Walden).
• Critics didnt take him seriously as a writer
  during his lifetime

8
How successful was this author during his/her
lifetime?

• First two books didnt sell well
• Critics didnt take him seriously
• However, lived according to his own principle of
  simplicity

9
If the author wasnt successful or popular at the
time of their death, explain how and why they are
still well known today

• Biography published in England in 1890
• Mahatma Gandhi read Walden in 1906 and
  recommended widely
• Other famous leaders have cited Walden as an
  influence

10
Why is this author considered influential?

• Creator of the idea of civil disobedience
• Many leaders and activists have borrowed his
  ideas, including
• Gandhi
• MLK
• Nelson Mandela
• Vietnam War activists

11
Identify five (5) characteristics of this author
and give specific examples

• Loved nature inspired by it
• Thoughtful philosophical essays
• Innovative improved pencil making
• Independent lived life on his own terms