[Gutenberg 26750] • Memorial Address on the Life and Character of Abraham Lincoln / Delivered at the request of both Houses of Congress of America

George Bancroft (1800-1891) was an American historian and statesman. His first position was that of tutor at Harvard University, and with a friend he established the Round Hill School at Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1834 appeared the first of ten volumes of the History of the United States, which would appear over the next four decades (1834-74) and established his reputation. His entry into politics came in 1837 with his appointment by Martin Van Buren as Collector of Customs of the Port of Boston. He also became Secretary of the Navy (1845- 46), during which tenure he established the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He served as Minister Plenipotentiary to England (1846-49), then withdrew from public life, residing in New York and writing history. In 1866 he was chosen by Congress to deliver the special eulogy on Lincoln, and in 1867 he was appointed minister to Berlin, where he remained until his resignation in 1874. His other works include: Literary and Historical Miscellanies (1855), The History of the Formation of the Constitution of the United States (1882) and Martin Van Buren to the End of his Public Career (1889).