Samuel Griswold Goodrich
Who was Samuel Griswold Goodrich?
American author (1793-1860)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Samuel Griswold Goodrich (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Samuel Griswold Goodrich was born on August 19, 1793, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He was the son of a Congregationalist minister and grew up in a home that prioritized education and religious teachings. These influences shaped his career as a prolific writer for children in the 1800s in America. Writing under the name Peter Parley, Goodrich created a large amount of educational and entertaining literature for young readers during a time when such material was rare and often brought in from Britain.
Before Fame
Goodrich grew up in rural Connecticut during the early years of the American republic, when educational resources for kids were scarce and often consisted of dull religious texts or imported British books. As a young man, he got into publishing in Hartford and Boston, where he learned the book industry and became convinced of the need for American-made literature for young readers. His trips to Europe, including a visit to England where he met the poet Hannah More, helped him understand what morally instructive yet engaging writing for children could be.
Key Achievements
- Created the Peter Parley series of educational children's books, which became among the best-selling American children's literature of the nineteenth century.
- Founded Merry's Museum, a children's magazine that ran from 1841 into the 1870s.
- Served as a Massachusetts State Senator in 1837.
- Appointed United States Consul to Paris in 1851, serving until 1853.
- Authored or edited an estimated 170 volumes covering history, geography, science, and moral instruction for young audiences.
Did You Know?
- 01.Goodrich claimed in his memoirs to have authored or edited more than 170 volumes during his lifetime, making him one of the most prolific American writers of the nineteenth century.
- 02.His Peter Parley series sold an estimated seven million copies in the United States alone during his lifetime.
- 03.Goodrich served as United States Consul in Paris from 1851 to 1853, a diplomatic appointment that reflected both his political connections and his transatlantic literary reputation.
- 04.He founded Merry's Museum, a children's magazine that later became notable for publishing early works by Louisa May Alcott, who served as its editor in the 1860s.
- 05.Goodrich was so popular that numerous unauthorized British publishers produced fake Peter Parley books without his knowledge or consent, a piracy problem he repeatedly complained about publicly.