Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Ralph Waldo ( 1803 – 82 ),American philosopher and poet, born in Boston, the son of a Unitarian minister who died when he was 8, leaving him and four brothers (one mentally retarded) to the care of their mother and aunt, in straitened circumstances. He was educated at Harvard, studied theology, was ordained, and became a pastor in Boston, but resigned his charge (shortly after the death of his first wife) because he felt unable to believe in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Dejected and with uncertain prospects, he departed in 1832 for Europe, and in 1833 visited England, where he met Coleridge and Wordsworth , and notably Carlyle , who after a day's intensive conversation at Craigenputtock became a lifelong friend and correspondent. On his return to America Emerson embarked on a career as lecturer, evolving the new quasi-religious concept of Transcendentalism , which found written expression...
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