Born October 30, 1735 in Braintree, Massachusetts
[Died] July 4, 1826. Quincy, Massachusetts. American politician and lawyer. Second president (in office 1797-1801). Graduated from Harvard University in 1755. After teaching for a time, he studied law and qualified as a barrister in 1758. He entered politics in 1765, and in 1770, he defended a British soldier suspected of murder in the Boston Massacre, and acquitted him. In 1771, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Later, as one of the representatives of Massachusetts, he strongly advocated for the independence of the colonies, and in 1776, he was appointed to the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence (see American Revolutionary War). He played an active role in negotiations with foreign countries during the difficult period after the American Revolution. In 1785, he was appointed the first American ambassador to London. He served as vice president under the first president, George Washington, from 1789 to 1797. He defeated Thomas Jefferson in the 1796 presidential election. When Adams became president, he found himself in a difficult position, with diplomatic relations with France deteriorating and, at home, surrounded by supporters of Vice President Jefferson, a Republican, and cabinet members who supported Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton. Adams himself was in opposition to France, but he managed to maintain neutrality with France, based on a foreign policy of not getting involved in European conflicts. As a result, he disagreed with Hamilton, and Adams' peace policy was criticized within the party as being submissive, leading to his isolation. In the end, he was unable to unite the party, and he made unreasonable domestic policies, such as the enactment of the Alien Act and the Sedition Act, and taxation for military purposes, which earned him criticism. He lost to Jefferson in the 1800 presidential election, ending his political career. Adams
Adams, Hannah Born October 20, 1755 in Medfield, Massachusetts.
[Died] December 15, 1831. Brooklyn, Massachusetts. American religious historian. She is said to be America's first professional female writer. Her father was a cranky book lover with no business acumen, so her family lived in poverty. Inheriting her father's qualities, she loved books and had an extraordinary memory. She did not receive a formal education, but the seminarians who lived in her home offered to tutor her. After one of her students recommended the book Historical Dictionary of All Religions by the Reverend Thomas Broughton, she began to read various religious books, and in 1784 she published An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects Which Have Appeared from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Present Day. The book was well received, and Adams decided to make a living as a writer, so he wrote A Summary History of New-England (1799). His other works included The Truth and Excellence of the Christian Religion Exhibited (1804), History of the Jews (1812), and A Memoir of Miss Hannah Adams, Written by Herself (1832), which was published posthumously. Adams
Adams, John Quincy Born July 11, 1767 in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Died: February 23, 1848, Washington, D.C.
American politician. Sixth president (in office 1825-29). Eldest son of second president J. Adams. Graduated from Harvard University in 1787. Entered the bar in 1890. Served as minister to the Netherlands and Prussia under the Federalist administration. After serving as a U.S. Senator (1803-07), he was a professor of rhetoric at Harvard, minister to Russia (09-14), representative on the American side at the Treaty of Ghent (14), which ended the War of 1812, minister to Great Britain (15-17), and Secretary of State in the administration of J. Monroe (17-25). During his term as Secretary of State, he participated in the acquisition of Florida (19) and the drafting of the Monroe Doctrine (23). Elected president in 1824. As president, he was enthusiastic about building internal transportation routes, but was opposed by strict constitutionalists and the southern slave states, and was unable to achieve any results. He lost the presidential election in 1928 to A. Jackson, and served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 17 years from 1931 until his death. During that time, he was a staunch opponent of slavery and its expansion. Adams
Adams, Henry Brooks Born: February 16, 1838 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
[Died] March 27, 1918, Washington, DC, USA
American historian and author. Born into a distinguished family that produced two presidents. He lectured on medieval and American history at his alma mater, Harvard University (1870-77), and after resigning from teaching, he devoted himself to writing. Undeterred by his wife's suicide, he worked hard to complete American history. His major works include History of the United States during the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison (9 volumes, 89-91), a study of medieval Europe, Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (1904), and novels Democracy (1880) and Esther (84). His autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams (1906), is particularly famous as a book of skepticism and despair about 20th century civilization. Adams
Adams, Frank Dawson Born: September 17, 1859 in Montreal
[Died] December 26, 1942. Montreal. Canadian geologist. Born into a distinguished family in New England, USA, he graduated with honors from McGill University, and studied chemistry and mineralogy at Yale University and Heidelberg University. He became a lecturer at McGill University in 1890, and became a professor of geology in 1893. He was elected a member of the Royal Society of London, the Geological Society of America (president in 1918), the Royal Society of Canada (president in 1913), and the Geological Society of London, and received numerous awards, including the Lyell Medal in 1906. He joined the Canadian Geological Expedition, which was organized in 1880, and began his research activities. He excelled in the study of metamorphism using precise measurements of compression rate and internal friction during rock deformation, and is particularly famous for his research on Precambrian crystalline rocks. His main work is The birth and development of the geological sciences (1938). Adams
Adams, Ansel Born: February 20, 1902 in San Francisco, California
[Died] April 22, 1984. Carmel, California. American landscape photographer. As a boy, he aspired to be a musician, but began photographing landscapes with his photographer uncle, and in 1927, he attracted attention with a collection of works that imitated the Impressionist style. In 1930, he was influenced by A. Stieglitz's "straight photography," which produced clear images, and in 1932 he joined the "F64 group" of E. Weston and P. Strand, and began using large cameras. He was also known as one of the rare technicians in the history of photography, and published "Making a Photograph" in 1935. In 1941, he created a photo mural for the State Department. In 1946, he founded the California School of Art and began full-scale photography education. His major collection of works is "This is America's Land" (1960). Adams
Addams, Jane Born September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois
Died: May 21, 1935. Chicago. American social reform activist and founder of Hull-House. Graduated from Rockford University. Traveled to Europe (1883-85, 87-88), where she visited Toynbee House (84), which was working on social problems resulting from the Industrial Revolution in England, and was so impressed that she returned to Japan. In 1889, she founded Hull-House in Chicago and devoted herself to researching urban social problems. As chairperson of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom from 1915 to 1934, she opposed war, the worst social evil, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Her major works include Twenty Years at Hull-House (1910) and The Second Twenty Years at Hull-House (1930). Adams
Adams, Samuel Hopkins Born January 26, 1871 in Dunkirk, New York, USA.
[Died] November 15, 1958. Beaufort, South Carolina, U.S.A. American novelist and journalist. Graduated from Hamilton College in 1891. From 1901 to 1905, he was involved with Mackle's Magazine, and published exposés in magazines and other publications as one of the so-called muckrakers who exposed social ills. Some of his novels were also the subject of films and musicals, and in 1934, It Happened One Night, which was made into a film by director F. Capra, won all the major categories at the Academy Awards. His main work was Canal Town (1944). Adams
Adams, John Couch Born: 5 June 1819, Lannister, Cornwall
Died January 21, 1892. British astronomer and mathematician from Cambridge. He was professor at the University of St. Andrews (1858), professor at Cambridge University (59), and director of the Cambridge University Observatory (61-92). In 1841, while a student at Cambridge University, he noticed irregularities in the motion of Uranus and predicted the existence of Neptune independently of U. Le Verrier. He predicted its exact position and requested the Cambridge University Observatory to observe it (45), but Neptune was actually discovered at the Berlin Observatory in September 1846, at Le Verrier's request. He is also famous for his theory of the motion of the moon, his research into the orbit of the Leonid meteor shower, and his research into geomagnetism. Adams
Adams, William Born: 24 September 1564, Gillingham, Kent
[Died] April 24, 1620. The first Englishman to come to Hirado, Japan. His Japanese name was Miura Anjin. He studied shipbuilding and navigation in England, and participated in a naval battle with the Spanish fleet. Later, in 1598, he joined the Dutch Oriental Expeditionary Fleet from Rotterdam as a pilot, and drifted in the Pacific Ocean, drifting ashore on March 16, 1600, in Sashiu, Bungo on the ship Liefde. He served Tokugawa Ieyasu, and was given a mansion in Anjincho, Nihonbashi, Edo, and a fief of 250 koku in Itsumi, Sagami. While being highly valued as a diplomatic advisor, he also worked hard to establish trading posts in the Netherlands and England in Hirado, and was also active as a red seal ship trader. Adams
Adams, Charles Follen Born April 21, 1842 in Dorchester, Massachusetts
[Died] March 8, 1918. Roxbury, Massachusetts. American poet. Wrote humorous poems in dialect. Served in the Civil War, was wounded and taken prisoner. In 1872, he began writing humorous poems in a German dialect called Pennsylvania Dutch for magazines and newspapers. His works include "Leedle Yawcob Strauss, and Other Poems" (1877), "Dialect Ballads" (1888), and the illustrated collection of poems "Yawcob Strauss, and Other Poems" (1910). Adams
Adams, Samuel Born: September 27, 1722, Boston
[Died] October 2, 1803. Boston. Radical patriot leader during the American Revolution. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Organized the popular opposition to the Stamp Act of 1765, and later led the political struggle against the privileged ruling class of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, centering on the "Sons of Liberty." In response to the Townshend Acts of 1767, he drafted the "Massachusetts Circular" the following year. In 1872, he worked to establish the Boston Committee of Correspondence, and played a leading role in the Boston Tea Party the following year. He was selected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and later served as Governor of Massachusetts from 1794 to 1897. Adams
Adams, Walter Sydney Born: December 20, 1876 in Anturkiye, Syria
[Died] May 11, 1956, Pasadena, California. American astronomer. Son of a missionary. Moved to America at the age of eight, and studied astronomy at Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago. Later studied abroad in Germany, and studied at the University of Munich. Joined Mount Wilson Observatory (1904), and later became its director (23-46). Engaged in research into astronomical spectroscopy. Known for confirming the spectral line shift of the companion star of Sirius, spectroscopic analysis of sunspots, determining the distance and velocity of stars, and studying planetary atmospheres. He also contributed to the construction of the 200-inch (approximately 508 cm) reflecting telescope at Palomar Observatory. Adams
Adams, Roger Born: January 2, 1889 in Boston
[Died] July 6, 1971, Champaign, Illinois. American organic chemist. After graduating from Harvard University, he studied at the universities of Zurich and Berlin and at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. He was a lecturer at Harvard University (1913) and a professor at the University of Illinois (19). He discovered the synthesis of a powerful platinum oxide catalyst (→Adams catalyst). He is also known for his research into the chemical composition of many natural substances and their stereochemistry. During World War II, he served as a scientific advisor to the Japanese government, and visited Japan in 1947 as head of the scientific advisory group for the General Headquarters for the Occupation of Japan. Adams
Addams, Charles (Samuel) Born January 7, 1912 in Westfield, New Jersey
[Died] September 29, 1988. New York, New York American cartoonist. Known for his horror cartoons published in The New Yorker magazine, he is considered the leading figure in the field. One night in 1937, he drew an old castle on a blank sheet of paper and came up with the idea of a ghost as a suitable inhabitant, which led to the creation of "The Addams Family," which was later made into a television series. His major works include Addams and the Devil (1947) and Charles Addams' Mother Goose (1967). Adams
Adams A town at the foot of Mt. Greylock (1,064m) in northwestern Massachusetts, USA. Quakers settled there in the mid-18th century. It was originally called East Hoosac, but was later named after Samuel Adams, a hero of the American War of Independence. In addition to producing building stone, the town is also home to textile and paper manufacturing industries. The town is the center of a resort area, with a state forest and ski resort nearby. Population: 9,445 (1990). Adams
Adams, William Taylor Born July 30, 1822 in Bellingham, Massachusetts.
Died March 27, 1897, Boston. American children's author. Pen name Oliver Optic. He wrote over 100 works, mostly serials, including the Boat Club series (1854) and the Army and Navy series (1861-1867). He also edited a magazine for children. Adams
Adams, Charles Francis Born: August 18, 1807, Boston
[Died] November 21, 1886. Boston American diplomat. Son of the sixth president, J. Q. Adams. Lawyer. In 1840, he served as a Whig member of the state House of Representatives. In 1858, he served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1861, he became the ambassador to Great Britain during the American Civil War, and played an active role as a representative of American interests. Adams
Adams, Abigail Born November 11, 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Died October 28, 1818, Quincy, Massachusetts. Wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States. Known as a wise wife, she wrote many letters discussing women's rights and other issues from the time of the American Revolution to the beginning of the 19th century. Adams
Adams, Maude Born November 11, 1872 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
[Died] July 17, 1953, Tannersville, New York. American actress. She played an active role as a child actress in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and other productions. She later gave outstanding performances in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Peter Pan", and retired in 1934. Adams
Adams, Herbert Baxter Born April 16, 1850 in Shutesbury, Massachusetts.
[Died] July 30, 1901.
American historian. Professor at Johns Hopkins University. His students include the 28th President W. Wilson and historian F. Turner. He played an active role in establishing the American Historical Association. Adams
Adams, Sarah [Born] 1805
[Died] 1848
She was an English female poet. She is known as a writer of hymns, especially Nearer, my God, to Thee (1840), and the dramatic poem Vivia Perpetua (41). Adams
Adams, Charles Kendall Born January 24, 1835 in Derby, Vermont
Died July 26, 1902, Redlands, California. American historian. President of Cornell University and University of Wisconsin. Introduced the European seminar method to America. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information |
