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

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

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

• 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

• "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

1. "Henry Osborn Taylor Biography". American Historical Association. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
2. "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
3. "Flapper Would Make Dante Speechless So Says Head of American Historians". Arizona Daily Star. March 13, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
4. "Mrs. H.O. Taylor, City's Benefactor; Wife of Historian and Donor of Isham Park in Upper Manhattan Dies at 73; She Aided Many Causes; Gave Prints to Metropolitan Museum—Had Been Generous to Harvard University" (PDF). The New York Times. March 7, 1939. p. O27. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
5. "William B. Isham". New-York Tribune. March 24, 1909. p. 7. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
6. "Latest Dealings in Realty Field; William B. Isham's Residence on East Sixty-first Street Sold by Executors of Estate" (PDF). The New York Times. March 3, 1912. p. R1. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
7. "Charles Isham Dies at 66" (PDF). The New York Times. June 10, 1919. p. 15. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
8. "Mrs. Isham Dies; Was Lincoln's Kin; Granddaughter of President a Daughter of Robert Todd Lincoln, Ex-War Secretary; Owned Famous Portrait; Emancipator's Likeness Now to Hang in White House if a Position Suitable Is Found" (PDF). The New York Times. November 22, 1938. p. 24. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
9. "Artist Dies on Golf Links.; Samuel Isham Bursts an Artery at Maidstone Club – His Career" (PDF). The New York Times. June 13, 1914. p. 9. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
10. "Will of Mrs. Taylor Aids Two Colleges; Harvard and Smith Get Residue After $100,000 Bequests" (PDF). The New York Times. March 12, 1939. p. 59. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
11. "Harvard Given $642,000 in Will of Julia Taylor". The Boston Globe. May 31, 1940. p. 11. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
12. "Dr. Henry O. Taylor Dies, Author, Historian". Hartford Courant. April 14, 1941. p. 4. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
13. W. M. Rankin, "The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages," The Critical Review of Theological & Philosophical Literature, Vol. XI, 1901.
14. "Review of The Mediæval Mind: a History of the Development of Thought and Emotion in the Middle Ages by Henry Osborn Taylor". The Athenæum (4363): 649–650. June 10, 1911.

External links

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