E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Carla Foust, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 32628-h.htm or 32628-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/32628/pg32628-images.html) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32628/32628-h.zip) Transcriber's note: A list of corrections will be found at the end of this e-book. THE CHILD'S BOOK OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY by MARY STOYELL STIMPSON Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill [Illustration: He rode beside the coach on a chestnut horse. FRONTISPIECE. _See Page 6._] [Decoration] Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1924 Copyright, 1915, By Little, Brown, and Company. All rights reserved Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Cushing Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. FOREWORD In every country there have been certain men and women whose busy lives have made the world better or wiser. The names of such are heard so often that every child should know a few facts about them. It is hoped the very short stories told here may make boys and girls eager to learn more about these famous people. CONTENTS PAGE GEORGE WASHINGTON 1 WILLIAM PENN 9 JOHN PAUL JONES 17 JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY 27 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 36 LOUIS AGASSIZ 46 DOROTHEA LYNDE DIX 54 ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT 62 CLARA BARTON 75 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 81 ROBERT EDWARD LEE 91 JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 98 ROBERT FULTON 106 GEORGE PEABODY 116 DANIEL WEBSTER 124 AUGUSTUS ST. GAUDENS 132 HENRY DAVID THOREAU 141 LOUISA MAY ALCOTT 149 SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE 155 WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT 164 PHILLIPS BROOKS 173 SAMUEL CLEMENS 181 JOE JEFFERSON 188 HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 197 JAMES MCNEILL WHISTLER 204 RALPH WALDO EMERSON 215 JANE ADDAMS 222 LUTHER BURBANK 229 EDWARD ALEXANDER MACDOWELL 236 THOMAS ALVA EDISON 243 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS He rode beside the coach on a chestnut horse _Frontispiece_ PAGE He began munching one of these as he went back into the street 41 "How big is your trunk?" 88 He rode there on horseback 129 The poor fellow fell to the floor as if he were dead 166