Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803–April 27, 1882) 
was a famous American essayist and one of America's most 
influential thinkers and writers.

Life

Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Unitarian minister 
and would later become a Unitarian minister himself. Emerson 
eventually, however, broke away from the doctrine of his superiors 
and formulated and expressed the philosophy of Transcendentalism 
in his 1836 essay Nature.

When he was three years old, Emerson's father complained that 
the child could not read well enough. Then in 1810, when Emerson 
was eight years old, his father died. In October of 1817, at the 
age of 14, Emerson went to Harvard University and was appointed 
President's Freshman, a position which gave him a room free of 
charge. He waited at Commons, which reduced the cost of his board 
to one quarter, and he received a scholarship. He added to his 
slender means by tutoring and by teaching during the winter 
vacations at his Uncle Ripley's school in Waltham, Massachusetts.

After Emerson graduated from Harvard, he assisted his brother 
in a school for young ladies established in their mother's 
house; when his brother went to Göttingen to study divinity, 
Emerson took charge of the school. Over the next several years, 
Emerson made his living as a schoolmaster, eventually studying 
divinity himself, and emerging as a Unitaritan minister. A dispute 
with church officials over the administration of the Communion 
service led to his resignation. About the same time, his young 
wife and one true love, Miss Elena Louisa Tucker, died in April 
of 1831.

In 1832–33, Emerson toured Europe, a trip that he would later 
write about in English Traits (1856). During this trip, he met 
Wordsworth, Coleridge, John Stuart Mill, and Thomas Carlyle. 
Emerson maintained a correspondence with Carlyle until Carlyle's 
death in 1881.

In 1835, Emerson bought a house on the Cambridge Turnpike, in 
Concord, Massachusetts. He quickly became one of the leading 
citizens in the town.

In 1836, Emerson and other like-minded intellectuals founded 
The Dial, a periodical which served as a vehicle for the 
Transcendental movement, although the first issue did not 
appear until July of 1840. Meanwhile, Emerson published his 
first essay, Nature, in September of 1836.

Early in 1842, Emerson lost his first son, Waldo, to scarlet 
fever. Emerson wrote about his grief in two major works: the 
poem "Threnody", and the essay "Experience".

Emerson made a living as a popular lecturer in New England 
and the rest of the country outside of the south. During 
several scheduled appearances that he was not able to make, 
Frederick Douglass took his place. Emerson spoke on a wide 
variety of subjects. Many of his essays grew out of his 
lectures.

Emerson was an associate with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry 
David Thoreau and often took walks with them in Concord.

Emerson was noted as being a very abstract and difficult 
writer who never the less drew large crowds for his 
speeches. A common joke heard from his audiences, was they 
had no idea what he was saying, but it was beautiful. He was 
considered one of the great orators of the time, a man who 
could enrapture crowds with his own enthusiasm. His outspoken, 
uncompromising support for abolitionism later in life caused 
protest and jeers from crowds when he spoke on the subject. 
He continued to speak on the subject without concern for 
popularity and with increasing radicalism. As a young man, 
he had outraged the establishment with his Harvard Divinity 
Address, proclaiming Jesus Christ a great man, but not God. 
For this, he was denounced as an atheist, and a poisoner 
of young men's minds. Despite the roar of his critics, he 
made no reply, leaving it to others for his defense. He was 
not invited back to speak at Harvard for another 40 years. 
He tried very hard to not join the public arena as a member 
of any group or movement, and always kept a strong independence 
that reflected his individualism. He always insisted that he 
wanted no followers, but sought to give man back to himself, 
as a self-reliant individual. Asked to sum up his work late 
in life, he said it was his doctrine of "the infinitude of 
the private man" that remained central.

Emerson is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord.