James Kendall Hosmer

James Kendall Hosmer (born in Northfield, Massachusetts, 29 January 1834; died 11 May 1927 ) was a United States educator, historian and writer.

Biography
Hosmer was the son of Unitarian clergyman George Washington Hosmer. He graduated from Harvard in 1855. He then studied theology, and became pastor for a Unitarian congregation in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. During the American Civil War, he served in the 52nd Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. After the war, he felt himself unsuited for the ministry, and decided to seek other occupations.

He was professor at Antioch College 1866-1872. From 1872 to 1874, he occupied the chair of English and German literature in the University of Missouri, and in 1874 was elected to a similar professorship in Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.

He left his professorship in Missouri to direct the Minneapolis Public Library 1892-1904. He was the 1902/3 president of the American Library Association, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Family
He married Eliza A. Cutler in 1863. After her death in 1877, Hosmer married Jenny P. Garland.

Literary works

 * —— (1865). The Thinking Bayonet, a novel
 * —— (1879). A Short History of German Literature (St. Louis)
 * —— (1885). Life of Samuel Adams ("American Statesmen" series, Boston)
 * —— Story of the Jews ("Story of the Nations" series, New York, 1886)
 * —— (1890).A Short History of Anglo-Saxon Freedom
 * —— (1901). A Short History of the Mississippi Valley
 * —— (1902). A Short History of the Louisiana Purchase
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 * —— (1912). The Last Leaf, reminiscences
 * —— (1902). A Short History of the Louisiana Purchase
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 * —— (1912). The Last Leaf, reminiscences
 * —— (1912). The Last Leaf, reminiscences