Theodore H. Hittell | |
|---|---|
 Theodore H. Hittell | |
| Born | April 5, 1830 Jonestown, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Died | February 23, 1917 San Francisco, California, USA |
| Occupation | Author, historian |
| Relatives | John Shertzer Hittell (brother) Carlos Hittell (son) |
Theodore Henry Hittell was a historian, state senator, and writer. [1] He is known for his histories of California as well as his association with John "Grizzly" Adams.
During Grizzly Adams' exhibition of his grizzly bears and other trained animals in San Francisco, he was working with Hittell from July 1857 until December 1859. Hittell listened to Adams narrate his adventures almost daily for an hour or so and took careful notes, cross-questioning Adams to assure he had it straight. Adams knew, and was apparently flattered by the fact Mr. Hittell intended to write a book based upon Adams' talks. Also, during this time, the artist Charles C. Nahl took an interest in Adams' grizzlies and, working with Hittell, prepared illustrations (one of which is at the head of this article) that would be used in Hittell's forthcoming book. One of his paintings eventually became the model for the grizzly bear on California's state flag. In 1860, after Adams had relocated to New York, Theodore H. Hittell published his book, The Adventures of James Capen Adams, Mountaineer and Grizzly Bear Hunter of California, in San Francisco, and then later that year, in Boston.
Hittell had a close relationship and correspondence with John Muir.
In an article in the California Historical Quarterly, "Theodore H. Hittell and Hubert H. Bancroft: Two Western Historians", Robert W. Righter compares the two historians. The two were somewhat antagonistic toward each other. Hittel thought that H. H. Bancroft gave too much of the writing of The Works over to assistants. For instance, H. H. Bancroft's assistant, Henry L. Oaks, wrote five of the seven volumes of H. H. Bancroft's "History of California". H. H. Bancroft disparaged the lack of extensive scholarship in Hittell's "History of California". Modern historians view T. H. Hittell as being more literary, while H. H. Bancroft is more scholarly. [2]
When the Constitution of California was adopted in 1879, Mr. Hittell became greatly interested in State politics. He was elected as State Senator from San Francisco and served during 1880–82. [3]
Theodore Dehone Judah was an American civil engineer who was a central figure in the original promotion, establishment, and design of the First transcontinental railroad. He found investors for what became the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR). As chief engineer, he performed much of the route survey work to determine the best alignment for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada, which was completed six years after his death.
Hubert Howe Bancroft was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote, published and collected works concerning the western United States, Texas, California, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and British Columbia.
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John Boyden Adams was a famous California mountain man and trainer of grizzly bears and other wild animals he captured for menageries, zoological gardens and circuses.
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Henry Bates of Shasta County, California was a politician affiliated with the American Party. He served as California state treasurer, 1856–1857. Prior to that, he was a member of the California State Assembly from the 13th district, 1855–1856. As state treasurer, he was impeached by California State Assembly and convicted in his impeachment trial before the California State Assembly, and resigned before his formal sentencing..
The Californias, occasionally known as The Three Californias or Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. Historically, the term Californias was used to define the vast northwestern region of Spanish America, as the Province of the Californias, and later as a collective term for Alta California and the Baja California Peninsula.
H. Morse Stephens was an historian and professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley who helped to purchase the Bancroft Library, and who worked to build archives of California history, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and World War I.
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José Joaquín Estudillo was a Californio statesman and ranchero who served as the 2nd Alcalde of San Francisco. A member of the prominent Estudillo family of California, he is also considered the founder of the city of San Leandro.
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The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California, then a part of Mexico. The conquest lasted from 1846 into 1847, until military leaders from both the Californios and Americans signed the Treaty of Cahuenga, which ended the conflict in California.
Negro Flat was a placer gold mining camp on the Salmon River, now located in Siskiyou County, California. It was located originally in Trinity County, in 1850.
Gullion's Bar was a placer gold mining camp on the Salmon River, now located in Siskiyou County, California. It was located originally in Trinity County, in 1850.
George Peter Hammond was an American professor of Latin American studies. He published works related to the founding of New Mexico and other Spanish settlements in the United States. He was the director of the Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley for 17 years.
John Shertzer Hittell was an American author, historian, and journalist of the United States during the Golden Age of Free Thought. Hittell wrote on a wide variety of topics including history, mining, Christianity, Pantheism, phrenology, morality, and politics. He is best known for his works A History of The City of San Francisco and Incidentally of the State of California (1878) and The Evidences Against Christianity (1856).
Province of Las Californias was a Spanish Empire province in the northwestern region of New Spain. Its territory consisted of the entire U.S. states of California, Nevada, and Utah, parts of Arizona, Wyoming, and Colorado, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur.
