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Member Number: 127
Jacob Abbott is the author of the first fictional series for children. Born in Maine in 1803, Abbott was raised in a strictly Christian household, the second of seven children. He graduated from Bowdoin College, and went on to study theology at Andover, becoming a teacher and a minister. In 1824, while still a student at Andover, Abbott began teaching at Amherst College, becoming a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy there. Ordained in 1826, he also gave sermons in the college chapel.
In 1829, Jacob Abbott and his brother, John, founded a high school for girls, Mt. Vernon School, in Boston. It was there that Jacob Abbott published his first book, The Young Christian; or, A Familiar Illustration of the Principles of Christian Duty (1832). In 1835, a year after having moved from Mt. Vernon to become a pastor in a Congregational Church in Roxbury, Abbott published the first of his "Rollo" series of books, The Little Scholar Learning to Talk. A Picture Book for Rollo. The series eventually included 14 books, as well as a further series called Rollo's Tour in Europe. Over the next several years, Abbott wrote other series of books, including the "Jonas" series, the "Lucy" series and the "Franconia" stories. He and his brother John wrote Illustrated Histories, biographies of historical figures, written for adolescents.
In total, Abbott wrote 130 books and edited or co-authored another 31. He is credited with having brought a new dimension to children's books. Abbott had been twice married, in 1828 to Harriet Vaughan who died in 1843, and to Mary Woodbury in 1853. He had four sons.
Most Famous Works
- The Young Christian (1832)
- The Little Philosopher, for Schools and Families (1833)
- The Little Scholar Learning to Talk and Rollo learning to Read (1835)
- Rollo Series (1835-1858)
- Jonas Series (1839-1841)
- Lucy Series (1841-1842)
- Illustrated Biographies of historical figures (1848-1853)
- Franconia Series (1850-1853)
- Stories of Rainbow and Lucky (1859-1860)
- Harlie Stories (1862-1863)
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