caption death_date nationality birth_date image article_title name occupation
portrait of george keats by joseph severn , 1817 24 december 1841 british 28 february 1797 george keats painting.jpg george keats
 george keats poet , politician
george keats

george keats -lrb- 28 february 1797 -- 24 december 1841 -rrb- was a businessman and civic leader in louisville , kentucky , as it emerged from a frontier entrepôt into a mercantile center of the old northwest .
he was also the younger brother of the english poet john keats .
during the years from 1821 to 1841 , keats led a philosophical society , meant to overcome louisville 's raw culture , operating a literary salon in his living room which evolved into the lyceum and then into the board of louisville college , the precursor to the university of louisville .
in 1827 , keats was elected to the ohio bridge commission , laying the foundation for the river 's first crossing .
the state government appointed him to the board of the bank of kentucky in 1832 .
he joined the boards of ten other organizations , including the kentucky historical society and the harlan museum , which he headed .
in 1841 , he was elected to the city council .
