Thomas Aspinwall (consul)

{{Short description|American diplomat and literary agent (1786–1876)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Thomas Aspinwall

| image = Thomas Aspinwall (1786–1876).png

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1786|05|23}}

| birth_place = Brookline, Massachusetts

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1876|08|11|1786|05|23}}

| death_place = Boston, Massachusetts

| resting_place = Walnut Street Cemetery

| occupation = Diplomat, literary agent, military officer

| awards =

| spouse = {{Marriage|Louise Elizabeth Poignand|February 13, 1814}}

| children = 7

| education = Harvard College

| signature = Signature of Thomas Aspinwall (1786–1876).png

| party =

| office = United States consul in London

| term_start = 1816

| term_end = 1854

}}

Colonel Thomas Aspinwall (1786–1876) was the second-longest-serving United States consul, holding that position in London from 1816 to 1854.Smith (1891) p. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n61/mode/1up 32].

Biography

Thomas was born to Dr. William Aspinwall and Susanna Gardner in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1786.The Boston Globe (August 14, 1876)

He matriculated at Harvard College in 1804 and graduated three years later, delivering the Latin valedictory address.Smith (1891) p. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n66/mode/1up 33]

In the War of 1812, Aspinwall was appointed major of the Ninth Regiment, U.S. Infantry. In 1813 he was made a lieutenant-colonel and eventually a colonel on account of his valor in the battle of Sackett Harbor. In September 1814, during the Siege of Fort Erie, he sustained an injury to his left arm that required an amputation. In recognition of his service, President Madison appointed him consul to London during a recess, and he was confirmed at the beginning of the subsequent legislative session.Smith (1891) pp. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n66/mode/1up 33–34]

While in London, Aspinwall acted as a literary agent and a liaison between American authors and British publishers.Barnes (1984) The American historian and Hispanist William Prescott, for instance, engaged with him in this capacity, as did Washington Irving, who was a close friend. He also procured books for Americans unable to do so, as for instance in the case of the abolitionist Lewis Tappan, who was his brother-in-law.Pryor-Johnson (2016)

He married Louise Elizabeth Poignand on February 13, 1814, and they had seven children.Smith (1891) p. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n70/mode/1up 37]

Aspinwall died August 11, 1876, at his home in Boston. He was buried at Walnut Street Cemetery.The Boston Globe (August 15, 1876)Smith (1891) pp. [https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n70/mode/1up 37–38]

Notes

References

{{Cite journal|last1=Barnes |first1=James J. |first2=Patience P. |last2=Barnes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24302830 |title=Thomas Aspinwall: First Transatlantic Literary Agent |journal=The Paper of the Bibliographic Society of America |volume=78 |number=3 |date=1984 |pages=321–331 |doi=10.1086/pbsa.78.3.24302830 |jstor=24302830 |s2cid=155358975 |access-date=2023-03-18 |url-access=subscription}}
Campaniolo, Jennifer, [https://books.google.com/books?id=uoJQBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 Legendary Locals of Brookline]. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2014. 65.
[http://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories/15/resources/10025 Georgetown University Archives notes].
{{Cite journal |url=https://archive.org/details/proceedingsmass04unkngoog/page/n61/mode/1up |title=Memoir of Col. Thomas Aspinwall |first=Charles C. |last=Smith |journal=Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society |volume=XXII |pages=32–38 |date=November 1891 |access-date=2023-03-18 |via=Internet Archive}}
Winthrop, Robert C., [https://books.google.com/books?id=e2EBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA432 Addresses and Speeches on Various Occasions, from 1869–1879]. Boston: Little, Brown, 1879. 432–435.
{{Cite web |url=http://www.pryorjohnsonrarebooks.com/weblog/2016/4/28 |title=A Well-Connected Dictionary |website=Pryor-Johnson Rare Books |date=2016-04-28 |access-date=2023-03-18}}
{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92146322/obituary-for-thomas-aspinwall/ |title=Colonel Thomas Aspinwall |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=4 |date=1876-08-14 |access-date=2023-03-18 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121127134/funeral-of-the-late-colonel-aspinwall/ |title=Funeral of the Late Colonel Aspinwall |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=4 |date=1876-08-15 |access-date=2023-03-18 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Category:Harvard College alumni

Category:1786 births

Category:1876 deaths

Category:People from Brookline, Massachusetts

Category:Consuls for the United States

Category:American literary agents

Category:Burials at Walnut Hills Cemetery (Brookline, Massachusetts)