The Iola register., 1891-01-23
BANCROFT DEAD.
Death of George bancroft, the Historian
at an Advanced Age-His Work.

Death of George Bancroft, the Historian,
at an Advanced Age-His Work.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19.-George Ban
croft, the venerable historian, died very
suddenly Saturday evening.
1t had been realized that Mr.. Ban
croft could hardly survive much longer
the increasing infirmities incident to
his extreme age, but he had been in |
cheerful spirits and apparently better |
health this year since his return from |
Newport than for several seasons past, !
so that his death was sudden and unex- |
pected to all save the few intimate |
friends who knew of the attack OF i'll !
ress which carried him off. The end
was quiet and peaceful and came after
a period OF uncOnsciOusness lasting
about twenty-four hours.
Mr.. Bancroft for some years had been
in the habit of spending about five
months in Newport and passing the
winter and colder season OF the year in
Washington. Two years ago he had a
severe attack of sickness which kept
him in bed for four or five weeks, and
as he was then in his eighty-ninth year
grave apprehensions were felt for his
life. He recovered, however, though
he was never after that as strong as he
had formerly been. He came to this
city from Newport last October. He
| was in fine health and spirits and had an
| excellent appetite and good faculty
| for sleep until last week when he
caught a slight cold. He had always
lived carefully but generously and had
| 4 @l, lnGt
weeks that he had never slept better
nor had a better appetite. Notwith-
| standing his cold he continued to seek
outdoor exercise every day until Thurs
day when he took to his bed as a matter
| Of prccautiOn.
| Mr. Bancroft's illness was less than
ten days. He failed rapidly Friday and
became unconscious in the afternoon,
| in which state he remained until the
end. His son, John c. bancroft, who,
| with his wife. kept house for the his
torian, was with him in his last no
ments. ..a
| Mr.. Bancroft was always fond of out
| door exercise. to which in a large meas
ure he attributed his good health and pro-
longed life, and after he discontinued
| horseback riding he regularly walked
about the ci Y, attended by an old ser
want. He lived here in large, old
fashioned double house on III street in
fashionable ne;ghborhood, and his
garden here, as at Newport, was
filled with choice roses, in which
flower he delighted. He regarded
his life work as finished two years ago,
and of late had done no literary work.
During the last decade he had revised
his great work, 1.-The History of the
United States" going over it in a Sc
verely critical style and eliminating the
flowers of rhetoric in the early work.
His last production was a history of the
| formation of the Constitution. He un-
dertook to write history of President
Polk's administration, in whose Cabinet
he served as Secretary of the Navy, but
was compelled to abandon it.
| George Bancroft was born in Worces-
ter. Mass. October 3, 1900. He was
a son of Rev. Aaron Bancroft. He was
prepared for college at Exeter, n. H.,
graduated at Harvard when Il years of
age and went to Germany. At Got
tingen. where he resided for two years,
he studied German literature under
Benecke, French and Italian literature
under Artaud and Bunsen, Arabic,
Hebrew and Scripture interpretation
under Eichhorn, history under Planck
and Heeren, natural history under Blu
menback, Rome under Dissen, with
whom he took course of Greek philos-
| nr,hu