William Tudor personal archive, approximately 1792-1914, and undated (bulk approximately 1792-1830): William Tudor papers
About this Collection
- Creator
- Tudor, William , 1779-1830
- Collection Title
- William Tudor personal archive, approximately 1792-1914, and undated (bulk approximately 1792-1830)William Tudor papers
- Language
- English
- Origin
- Massachusetts
- Description
- 2.73 cubic feet (5 document boxes, 2 flat boxes)
- Repository
- Harvard University Archives
- Subjects
Content Notes
The personal archive of William Tudor, dating from approximately 1792 to 1914, contains his correspondence with family, friends, politicians, and merchants, many of whom were Harvard graduates. These letters document Tudor’s travels to Europe, his efforts to succeed in trade and manufacturing, and his literary endeavors and intellectual pursuits. Later correspondence while Tudor was a diplomat in South America (1824-1830) relays information regarding the turbulent and rapidly changing political conditions in various provinces following the wars for independence from Spain. The collection further includes research materials collected by Tudor for his work on James Otis, and essays and addresses he composed on literature and politics.
Biographical Notes
William Tudor (1779-1830; Harvard AB 1796) was a Boston author, merchant, legislator, and diplomat. In the two decades following his graduation from Harvard, Tudor pursued a career in commerce, traveling to England, France, Italy, and the West Indies. Tudor was an original member of the Anthology Society (1804-1811) in Boston and helped establish, with other club members, the Boston Athenaeum in 1807. He co-founded the North American Review and was its first editor from 1815 to 1817. Tudor also authored a biography of James Otis. He was appointed by President John Quincy Adams to serve as United States consul in Lima, Peru (1823-1827), and he later became chargé d’affaires in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1827-1830). Tudor died from a fever on March 9, 1830 in Brazil.