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Fiske (John) Papers
mssFK  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance
  • Biographical Note
  • Scope and Content
  • Arrangement
  • General

  • Contributing Institution: The Huntington Library
    Title: John Fiske papers
    Creator: Fiske, John, 1842-1901.
    Identifier/Call Number: mssFK
    Physical Description: 22.5 Linear Feet (16 boxes, 26 volumes)
    Date (inclusive): 1850-1901
    Abstract: The papers and correspondence of American philosopher and historian John Fiske (1842-1902).
    Language of Material: English.

    Access

    Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

    Publication Rights

    The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item]. John Fiske papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

    Provenance

    Purchased from Godspeed in the 1920s and from Mrs Otis D. Fisk, 1955.

    Biographical Note

    John Fiske (1842-1901) was an American philosopher and historian. He was born Edmund Fiske Greene in Connecticut in 1842. He later assumed his maternal great-grandfather's surname Fiske. He graduated from Harvard College in 1863 and Harvard Law School in 1865. He began his career as author by publishing his first article in 1861 in the National Quarterly Review. After that he was a frequent contributor to American and British periodicals. He was a lecturer at Harvard University, Washington University and other schools. He also taught history. Fiske also became a supporter of Charles Darwin and the doctrine of evolution. Fiske published several books including The discovery of America, 1892. He died in Massachusetts in 1901. He was married to Abby Morgan and they had six children: Maud, Ralph, Ethel, Harold, Clarence, and Herbert. Fiske's mother Mary Greene married Edwin W. Stoughton in 1852 after the death of John's father Edmund Brewster Green. Edwin W. Stoughton was a lawyer in New York and U.S. minister to Russia from 1878 to 1879.

    Scope and Content

    The collection contains papers and correspondence of John Fiske. Included are manuscripts and proof sheets of his books, articles, lectures and other works on history, theology, and education, his literary works, musical compositions, and some documents. The professional and personal correspondence includes letters from Fiske to his wife Abby Morgan Fiske, mother Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton, Henry Holt, Henry A. Richmond, James Grant Wilson, and others. There are also letters to Fiske's step-father E. W. Stoughton.

    Arrangement

    Organized in two series: 1. Bound volumes; 2. Boxed and cased materials.

    General

    Individual call numbers in the collection: mssFK 1-1661, mssHM 7227-7231, mssHM 18866-18895, mssHM 24739-24877.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Historians -- United States -- Archives
    Lecturers -- United States -- Archives
    Philosophers -- United States -- Archives
    United States -- History
    United States -- Intellectual life -- 19th century -- Sources
    Lectures -- United States -- 19th century
    Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century
    Manuscripts -- United States -- 19th century
    Proofs (derivative objects) -- United States.
    Personal papers -- United States -- 19th century
    Professional papers -- United States -- 19th century
    Bixby, William K. (William Keeney), 1857-1931
    Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882
    Fiske, Abby Morgan, recipient.
    Gable, William F., 1856-1921
    Holt, Henry, 1840-1926, recipient.
    Huxley, Thomas Henry, 1825-1895
    Richmond, Henry Augustus, 1840-1913, recipient.
    Spencer, Herbert, 1820-1903
    Stoughton, E. W. (Edwin Wallace), 1818-1882, recipient.
    Stoughton, Mary Fiske Bound Green, recipient.
    Wilson, James Grant, 1832-1914, recipient.