Alden, Henry Mills, 1836-1919

Henry Mills Alden, American writer and editor for 50 years of Harper's Magazine and descendent of John and Priscilla Alden of the Mayflower fame, was born in Mount Tabor, Vermont, on November 3, 1836.

American editor and critic; editor, Harper's Monthly, 1869-1919.

American editor and critic; editor, Harper's monthly, 1869-1919.

Epithet: Editor of 'Harper's Magazine'

American editor and author.

American editor and critic.

Henry Mills Alden was an American author, journalist, and editor. A descendent of Mayflower Pilgrims John and Priscilla Alden, he worked his way through Williams College and entered a seminary. His religious career was sidetracked when Harriet Beecher Stowe secured publication for two of his articles in Atlantic Monthly. His literary aspirations led him to Harper's where he became editor of the influential and respected Harper's Magazine, a post he held for a remarkable fifty years.

Editor, Harper's magazine.

Henry Mills Alden, American writer and editor for 50 years of Harper's Magazine and descendent of John and Priscilla Alden of the Mayflower fame, was born in Mount Tabor, Vermont, on November 3, 1836. In 1853 he entered Williams College, where his fellow students included James A. Garfield, John J. Ingalls, and Horace E. Scudder.

After attending Williams, Alden spent three years at Andover Theological Seminary. Though he never entered the ministry, he often served as preacher at neighborhood parishes. Alden's literary career began while he was in the seminary with the acceptance of two articles by the Atlantic Monthly . The articles, one of which was on the Eleusinian Mysteries, had been sent, unbeknownst to him, to the Atlantic Monthly by his friend Harriet Beecher Stowe.

In 1861, Alden moved to New York and taught at a young ladies' school. He also made occasional contributions to The Times (New York) and the New York Evening Post . His connection with Harper and Brothers was established the next year, when the publishing house printed a guidebook of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which Alden had been commissioned to write. Alden then became assistant editor of Harper's Weekly, and in 1869, he was made editor of Harper's Magazine, a position he continued to fill until his death in 1919.

In addition to the monthly essays which he wrote for Harper's Magazine, Alden published three books: God in His World (1890), A Study of Death (1895), and Magazine Writing and New Literature (1908). He also edited several volumes of American literature and short stories with William Dean Howells. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Alden received the honorary degrees of Doctor of Literature and Doctor of Laws in 1890 and 1907, respectively, from his alma mater.

New York Times , 8 October 1919, 19: 3.

Editor of "Harper's Magazine."

Handwritten and signed letters, addressed to John Brisben Walker (1847-1931), and composed on "Harper & Brothers' Editorial Rooms. Franklin Square, New York" stationary. Alden declines an invitation, says he is too busy to meet a commitment, discusses articles he plans to publish, and mentions some of the authors he knows: Cynthia B. Tucker and Katherine Pearson Woods.

Also included is an autograph of Alden and a portrait of him probably clipped from a magazine.