Henry Osborn Taylor

Henry Osborn Taylor
President of the American Historical Association
In office 1927–1927
Preceded by	Dana Carleton Munro
Succeeded by	James Henry Breasted
Personal details
Born	(1856-12-05)December 5, 1856 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	April 13, 1941(1941-04-13) (aged 84) New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse	Julia Isham
Education	Harvard University Columbia University
Occupation	Historian and legal scholar

Henry Osborn Taylor (December 5, 1856 – April 13, 1941) was an American historian and legal scholar.

Career[edit]

Taylor graduated from Harvard University in 1878 and, later, from Columbia Law School. He later received honorary degrees from Harvard and Columbia.

Taylor was a philosopher and the author of several important works on ancient and medieval history.^[1] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1926.^[2] In 1927, he served as the president of the American Historical Association.^[3]

Personal life[edit]

Taylor was married to the philanthropist Julia Isham (1866–1939).^[4] Julia, the daughter of prominent merchant William Bradley Isham,^[5][6] was the sister of historian Charles Bradford Isham^[7] (who married Mamie Lincoln, granddaughter of President Abraham Lincoln)^[8] and artist Samuel Isham.^[9] Julia donated property from her late father's estate, which became Isham Park in Inwood, Manhattan, and gave generously to Harvard and Smith Colleges.^[10][11]

After a week's illness, Taylor died of pneumonia at his home, 135 East 66th Street in New York City on April 13, 1941.^[12] He was buried at Union Hill Cemetery in East Hampton, Connecticut.

Published works[edit]

• A Treatise on the Law of Private Corporations Having Capital Stock, The Banks Law Publishing Co., 1904 [1st Pub. Kay & Brother, 1884].
• The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages, The Columbia University Press, 1901 (2nd ed., 1903; 3rd ed., 1911; 4th ed. New York, F. Ungar Pub. Co., 1957).^[13]
  • The Emergence of Christian Culture in the West: the Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages, Harper, 1958.
• The Mediaeval Mind; a History of the Development of Thought and Emotion in the Middle Ages, 2 Vols, Macmillan Company, 1911.^[14]
• Ancient Ideals; a Study of Intellectual and Spiritual Growth from Early times to the Establishment of Christianity, 2 Vols, The Macmillan Company, 1913 (Reprint., New York: F. Ungar Pub. Co., 1964).
• Deliverance, the Freeing of the Spirit in the Ancient World, The Macmillan Company, 1915.
• Prophets, Poets and Philosophers of the Ancient World, The Macmillan Company, 1919 [1st Pub. 1915].
• Thought and Expression in the Sixteenth Century, 2 Vols, Macmillan Company, 1920.
• Greek Biology and Medicine, Marshall Jones Company, 1922.
• Freedom of the Mind in History, New York, 1923 [Reprint., Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1970].
• Human Values and Verities, Macmillan & Co., Limited, 1928.
• Fact: The Romance of Mind, The Macmillan Company, 1932.
• A Layman's View of History, The Macmillan Company, 1935 [Reprint, New York: AMS Press, 1978].
• A Historian's Creed, Harvard University Press, 1939 (Reprint, Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1969).
• The Humanism of Italy, Collier, 1962.
• The French Mind, Collier, 1962.

Articles[edit]

• "Development of Constitutional Government in the American Colonies," The Magazine of American History, Vol. II, N°. 12, December 1878.
• "Héloïse," The International Quarterly, Vol. VI, 1902/1903.
• "The Worlds of Salimbene," The International Quarterly, Vol. XII, October 1905/January 1906.
• "The Wisdom of the Ages," The Yale Review, Vol. VII, 1918.
• "Modern Civilization," The Saturday Review, November 3, 1928.
• "Annals of Culture," The Saturday Review, April 19, 1930.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Henry Osborn Taylor at Find a Grave
• Works by Henry Osborn Taylor at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Henry Osborn Taylor at Internet Archive
• Works by Henry Osborn Taylor, at JSTOR
• AHA Presidential Addresses: A Layman’s View of History