Lanman, Charles, 1819-1895

Charles Lanman, writer, journalist and amateur painter, was born in Monroe, Michigan, June 15, 1819. He spent much of his career working as a journalist in Monroe and Cincinnati, Ohio. He moved to Washington DC in 1848 and worked as a librarian in various branches of government, including the War Department, the Copyrights Division of the Department of State, the executive library of President Fillmore, and the Interior Department. He wrote several books in his career on topics of travel and wilderness. He also wrote biographies, including that of Daniel Webster. He compiled and edited a substantial volume on the biographies of U.S. congressional representatives, correspondence from which makes up this collection.

Lanman was born on June 14, 1819 in Monroe, MI; worked ten years at a business in New York City before returning to Michigan to edit the Monroe gazette in 1845; the next year was the assoc. editor of the Cincinnati chronicle, and in 1847 was an asst. on the New York express; in 1849 he became librarian of the War Dept. in Washington, DC; in 1850 he became librarian of copyrights and private secretary of Daniel Webster, and in 1853 examiner of depositories for the southern states; from 1855-57 he served as librarian and head of the returns office in the Interior Dept., in 1866 the librarian of the House of Representatives, and from 1871-82, secretary to the Japanese legation; wrote travel accounts of his explorations of wilderness areas of the eastern United States; best known as the publisher of the Dictionary of Congress, first issued in 1859; he died in 1895.

Compiler and publisher of the Dictionary of the United States Congress in its original (1859) and subsequent editions.

Lanman was one of nine children of Mary (d. Feb. 4, 1879) and Charles J. Lanman (1795-1870). He was born in Monroe (Mich.). Educated in Ct., Lanman eventually published 32 books. His Dictionary of Congress deserves special note. His career included work in the N.Y. East India mercantile house; editor of the Gazette (Monroe, Mich.), the Chronicle (Cincinnati, Ohio), and others; various public offices in Washington, D.C., including Librarian to the War and the Interior depts., the House of Representatives, and the city library. Lanman also served as private secretary to Daniel Webster and as the secretary of the Japanese legation for 11 years. Lanman also painted over a thousand landscapes. On June 12, 1849, Lanman married Adeline Dodge. (Information from the collection and Michigan authors, edited by Smallwood.).

Landscape painter, engraver, journalist; New York, Michigan, and Washington, D.C. Member of the National Academy of Design.

Charles Lanman (1819-1895) was appointed librarian of the War Department in 1849 and resigned in 1850 to become secretary to Daniel Webster. In 1853 and from 1855-1857 was librarian and head of the Returns Office in the Interior Department. In 1859 he published the Dictionary of the United States Congress, which underwent several revisions. Lanman became librarian of the House of Representatives in 1861 and returned to the Interior Department in 1865

Washington, D.C., author and career civil servant.

Author, explorer, artist, and librarian.

Charles Lanman (1819-1895), a writer, amateur explorer, and an artist, was born in Monroe, Michigan, and educated in the Eastern United States. As a young man of 15, he was employed by an East India mercantile company in New York. It was at this time that he began to explore the more inaccessible parts of the eastern seaboard, often by canoe. The sketches, essays and letters he published about his adventures drew attention on both sides of the Atlantic and most notably, from American author Washington Irving who described Mr. Lanman as "the picturesque explorer of our country." In the mid-1840s, Lanman published Essays for Summer Hours and Letters from a Landscape Painter before becoming the editor of several newspapers. For the next several years, he continued to publish magazine articles of his exploration of the Great Lakes, Mississippi Valley, and the St. Lawrence River, some of which were contained in the reprinted Adventures in the Wilds of America, published in London in 1854. In 1849 he became librarian of the War Department in Washington, resigning in 1850 to become private secretary to Daniel Webster. That association produced his Private Life of Daniel Webster published in 1852. In 1859, he first published The Dictionary of the United States Congress which was revised regularly and later published by Congress as The Biographical Directory of the American Congress. He was appointed librarian of the House of Representatives in 1861. From 1871-1882, he was the American secretary of the Japanese delegation and in the following year, edited the book, The Japanese in America. The remainder of his days were spent writing and painting in Georgetown, having written 32 works in all.

Born in Monroe, Mich. June 14, 1819 at the age of 10 sent to Norwich, Conn. for an academic education. Became a clerk in 1835 in New York City and returned to Monroe in 1845 to edit the Monroe Gazette. Joined the new York Express in 1847 and was sent to Washington, D.C. Lanman held the following official positions: Librarian of the War Dept., 1849; Librarian of Copyrights in the Dept. of State, 1849; organized library in the White House for President Fillmore; Librarian of the Interior Dept. 1857; Librarian of the House of Representatives in 1861; Librarian of the Washington D.C Library in 1888. Mr. Lanman wrote the first edition of his Dictionary of the United States Congress in 1859 from autobiographical and biographical material supplied by Congressmen still alive and other reference sources. Mr. Lanman died in 1895. (from National Cyclopedia of American Biography) (blue index cards)

From the guide to the Charles Lanman Collection, 1841-1866, (University of Rhode Island Library Special Collections and Archives Unit)

Charles Lanman, author, journalist, and former secretary to Daniel Webster, gathered the first collection of biographies of former and sitting Members of the United States Congress for his Dictionary of the United States Congress, published by J.B. Lippincott & Co. in 1859. Lanman intended his dictionary to serve primarily as a guide for sitting Members of Congress, much as the Congressional Directory functions today.

Charles Lanman was an author, government official, artist, librarian, and explorer. Lanman's career included service as librarian for the U.S. War Department, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the City of Washington Library; head of the returns office in the U.S. Interior Department; private secretary to Senator Daniel Webster; American secretary to the Japanese legation; and assistant assessor for the District of Columbia.

Charles Lanman was an amateur explorer, writer and artist. In 1850 he became Daniel Webster's private secretary and eventually published "Private Life of Daniel Webster" (1852) based on his close relationship with Webster. In 1859 he first published his "Dictionary of the United States Congress". He revised the dictionary at frequent intervals and eventually turned publishing rights over to the U.S.A. Government. Lanman published other works of historical and biographical nature. In all he was the author of thirty-two distinct works.

American author.

Writer.

Compiler of a biographical dictionary of the American Congress.

Painter, writer.

born in Monroe, Michigan. He studied engraving with Asher B. Durand in New York City, and exhibited paintings at the National Academy. He settled in Washington, D.C. in 1849, and is remembered for his publication of the Dictionary of the United States Congress, 1859.

Author, explorer, and artist.

Charles Lanman collected autobiographical sketches of senators and congressmen from all states in the Union during the last half of the nineteenth century.

Librarian of the War and Interior departments and the House of Representatives and secretary to Daniel Webster.

Also published a Dictionary of the United States Congress in 1859, which has been revised at intervals.

Biography

Lanman was born on June 14, 1819 in Monroe, Michigan; worked ten years at a business in New York City before returning to Michigan to edit the Monroe gazette in 1845; the next year was the associate editor of the Cincinnati chronicle, and in 1847 was an assistant on the New York express; in 1849 he became librarian of the War Department in Washington, D.C.; in 1850 he became librarian of copyrights and private secretary of Daniel Webster, and in 1853 examiner of depositories for the southern states; from 1855-57 he served as librarian and head of the returns office in the Interior Department, in 1866 the librarian of the House of Representatives, and from 1871-82, secretary to the Japanese legation; wrote travel accounts of his explorations of wilderness areas of the eastern United States; best known as the publisher of the Dictionary of Congress, first issued in 1859; he died in 1895.

Charles Lanman (1819-1895) was born in Michigan but lived most of his life in Washington, D.C. He was a prolific writer of biography, essays, and travel accounts; editor; amateur explorer of American wildernesses; artist; librarian of War Department, Interior Department, House of Representatives, and of Washington City Library; private secretary to Daniel Webster; and secretary of Japanese legislation.

In 1859 Lanman first published Dictionary of the United States Congress, which he subsequently updated and which was eventually taken over by the government and published as a Congressional document.