The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-21
JOHN FISKE Is HERE.
Career Of Distinguished Author
and Lecturer.
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
Brilliant Lecture OF the Early Explor-
ers-"Alexander Hamilton" the Sub
ject for This Evening.

John Fiske. the wcli-known author end lect-
urer, arrived a: the Rainier hotel late yesterday
| afternoon and in tn; evening delivered az The
! Unitarian church his lecture on "The Discovery
OF America the fret OF two which he is giving
here
| Mr.. Fiskc was born at Hartford, Conn, March
/ 20, 1872 He was the ouly child OF parents who
traced their ancestral lines TO the fine Old
| Philadelphia Quakcrs on the fathers side, and
on the mothers 20 Puritaus who came from
| Suffolk to America ia 1911. HIS father, who
died in 1852, wes editor OF newspapers in Hart
! ford, New YORK and Panama In 1850 he dropped
his original name, Edmund Fssc Green. for
that OF bis maternal great grandfather, John
Fiske. His precocity was remarkable. Al the
age OF IL years he had not olly read all OF Snake
| speare, large part OF Milton, Bunyau, Pope,
Gibb0n, Prescott, l. l5e-.soa and most OF Frois-
sart. but be well up III mathematics il which
| he delighted. and had made marked progress in
| Latin aud Geek. At 70 he was more than ready
Tor college. and could -ead Hero1otus and Plato
at sight lie also passiouately fond of out
door sports, III which he exceiled- At the age
OF IS he entered college, Joining the sophomore
class az Harvard, having spent the few years
preceding n tAe study OF Hebrew, Sanscrit and
all the modern languages, besides making him
self famI a. with the works OF Laplace, Cuyier,
Lamarck, Agassiz Darwin aud q host OF other
thinkers. While in college he so independ-
ent IL his studies OF the daily recitstions that
his standing in the class very low, for he
gave his time chiefly to ancient ana medieval
history aud philosophy, comparative pailoiogy
and modern literature, aiding Iceianic, Gothic,
Danish, Swe lisa, Dutch and Romance 10 his
store oflanguages, aud also making beginning
IL Russian. lie was graduated from the college
IN 1855, and two years later from the
Harvard Law school. In 1851 he had been ad-
mitted 10 the suffolk county bar. While pursu-
ing all the courses il law. he devoted much
time 10 study Of the Arabs, Moors and Turks.
and their relations to European history. Dur
ine this period he was happily married. Alter
leaving the law sclool he opened a law Office in
Boston. but abandoned it after six months,
peeeiving that he wgs better fitted fer literary
pursuits.
His career as an author began a. early as 1861
with an article on 'Mr. Buckles Fallacies' in
the NdtloRd, QuGYteriy Reuieu. This drew the
attention OF Herbert Spencer, and led to a warm
ana lasting friendship. Since then he has been
airequent contributor to American and English
periodicals. He has been university lecturer
on philosophy at Harvard, instructor in
history there, and for seven years assistant
librarian. From 1879 to 1851 he was one OF the
overseers of the university In 1854 Mr. Fiske
was elected university professor OF American
history OF the Washington university OF St
Louis, Mo-, position which he has held ever
since, going there every year from his home at
Cambridge 20 give his lectures. Since
ISL he has been delivering pub
lie lectures in America and Great
Britain. Though the larger part OF his life
has been devoted to the study OF history, he
made careful study OF the theory of evolution
as an expounder Of which doctrine he first &C.
CURED reputation, and the importance of his
contributions to the subject is generally
recognized. One OF Mr.. Fi,ke's most important
works has just been issued. in two volumes
from the Riverside press, entitled The Discoy-
- n kGd hoo daA ~.
"Ihe Beginning in New England in one
volume, "The American Revolution" in two,
'Ihe Critical Period Of American History" in
one. He is still working on the subject
aud hopes, OF course, some time to fill
out the intervals between and after these
epochs so as to make complete work on Ameri
can history. His other books Tobacco
and Alcohol" Myths and Myth Makers
Confines of Cosmic Philosophy" The Unseen
World" "Darwnism and Other Essays" Eek
cursious of an Evolutionist," The Destiny of
Man." "Ihe Idea OF Cod and American Politi-
cal Ideas"
The subject of last nights lecture. which was
welt attended. is one upon which Mr. Fiske has
made original researches Tor many years, and to
which he has contributed several new and
striking points. Ii would understand the
discovery OF America, he said. we
must begin by expeiling the modern
map from our minds, and go back
current from the Christian until the
fifteenth century. These conceptions were
illustrated by wall maps representing the views
OF Ptoleny and Pomponius Mcla IN the
thirteenth century the Mongol conquest of
China led to the visiting of China by a few
Europeans, and the discovery that il was
accessible on the east by These reports
led Roger Bacon, in 1867, to collect
opinions OF ancient writers to the
Residences of Il voyage westward from
spain to Asia. But the question did not
come up for practical solution until the old
routes were closed by the Turks in the four
teenth and fifteenth centuries. Then came the
first attempt, made by the Portuguese to ind
outside route by Communicating Africa.
Mr.. FIske described the career of Prince Henry,
the navigator, who iuaugurated the great work
afterward carried out by Columbus and 9th
ers, especially Nespucus and Magellan.
After telling of the work of Column
bus, the lecturer gave an account
Of Americas Nespuc.us ana his third voyage in
l51l in which he discovered a long stretch OF
Brazilian coast. south OF the equator. for the
king OF Portugal. The name Of Americas
Nespucius was first applied only 10 The Brazil
ian coast. Nercator. in l5il, was the first man
70 realize that new world distinct from Asis
hal been found.
The subject Tor tonight is Alexander Hamil-
ton"