Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/23

ABBOT.ABBOT. ABBOT, Ezra, biblical scholar, was born at Jackson, Me., April 28, 1819; son of Ezra and Phebe (Abbot) Abbot. He was educated at Phillips Exeter academy; graduated at Bowdoin college. A.B., 1840, A.M., 1843, and engaged in teaching school in Maine, 1840-47, and in Cambridge, Mass., 1847-55. He was assistant librarian at Harvard, 1856-72; university lecturer on the textual criticism of the New Testament, 1869-72, and Bussey professor of Sacred Literature there, 1872-84. He was married in 1843 to Catherine Meder of Jackson, Me., and in 1854 to Emily Everett of Cambridge, Mass. He received the honorary degree A.M. in 1861, and D.D. in 1872 from Harvard, and LL.D. from Yale in 1869, and from Bowdoin in 1879. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Oriental Society. He was an exact and erudite biblical scholar, and gave valuable assistance as a member of the American committee to revise the New Testament. He also contributed largely to the pronunciation of names in Worcester's Dictionary. In textual criticism he was unexcelled. He made a revision and collation of the learned quotations of Jeremy Taylor's "Holy Living and Dying," edited Hudson's "Greek and English Concordance of the New Testament," prepared an appendix to Alger's "Critical History of a Future Life," embracing an exhaustive catalogue of books on the subject, and contributed in the department of biblical criticism to various periodicals; published several catalogues and books of reference for Sunday school teachers; contributed regularly to Unitarian periodicals, being himself a member of that sect; and occasionally to the "North American Review." His chief original work is "The Authorship of the Fourth Gospel," which is considered authoritative. He gave his large and valuable library, comprising 5000 volumes chiefly of rare books and a collection of scarce editions of Greek New Testaments, to Harvard university, and the balance of his books, including his working library, he left to the Divinity school of Harvard, the gift being conditional: "There shall be secured as soon as possible a more adequate and safe place of keeping." A memorial of Dr. Abbott, edited by Samuel J. Barrows, was published by the Harvard divinity school alumni in 1884. Among his other works are "Literature of the Doctrine of a Future Life," and "New Discussions of the Trinity." He edited Norton's "Statement of the Reason for not Believing in the Doctrines of the Trinitarians," Lamson's "Church of the First Three Centuries," and similar controversial works, as well as an addition and valuable exposition to the 8th edition of Tischendorf's "Greek Testament." He died at Cambridge, Mass., March 21, 1884.  ABBOT, Henry Larcom, soldier, was born at Beverly, Mass., Aug. 13, 1831. At the age of twenty-three he was graduated from West Point with the rank of brevet second-lieutenant of topographical engineers, and after serving in Washington in the office of the Pacific railroad surveys he was sent to survey that road between California and Oregon. At the breaking out of the civil war he entered it as a military engineer, and at its close he had risen to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. He held many responsible positions, and in 1870 was sent to Sicily with a party for the purpose of making observations on the eclipse of the sun. He was among the foremost engineers of the day, having made several useful inventions and written extensively on many subjects. Among his more prominent books are: "Siege Artillery in the Campaign Against Richmond," "Experiments and Investigations to Develop a System of Submarine Mines for Defending Harbors of the United States," "The Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River," and "Reports of the Board on Fortifications or Other Defences." In his work on this board he won eminent distinction. After forty-one years of distinguished service he was retired on Aug. 13, 1895. He was chairman of the military judges at the Centennial exposition in 1876, and of the higher jury at the Atlanta exposition in 1895; president of the board of engineers of the proposed Pittsburg and Lake Erie canal in 1896, and a member of the technical committee of the New Panama Canal Co., from 1897. He became a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical society and received the degree LL.D. from Harvard. He contributed to magazines.  ABBOT, Joel, physician, was born in Fairfield, Conn., March 17, 1766. After studying at an academy and at a medical school he began to practise medicine in Washington, Ga., in 1794. There he became prominent in politics and was elected to the legislature in 1809. He held several local offices, and in 1816 was elected to represent Wilkes county in the 15th congress, and was re-elected to the 16th, 17th, and 18th congresses, 1817-25. He died in Washington, Ga., Nov. 19, 1826.  ABBOT, Joel, naval officer, was born in Westford, Mass., Jan. 18, 1793; son of Joel and Lydia (Cummings) Abbot. He was midshipman under Macdonough and for gallantry was promoted to a lieutenancy and presented by Congress with a sword in 1814. He was made a commander in 1838, and held command of the navy yard at Boston from 1839-1842. In 1852 he was made commander of the "Macedonian," and distinguished himself by his zeal and efficiency in the Japanese expedition. He died at Hong Kong, China, Dec. 14, 1855. 