George Parsons Lathrop

George Parsons Lathrop (August 25, 1851 – April 19, 1898) was an American poet, novelist, and newspaper editor.

Lathrop was known for pioneering copyright laws in the United States and the first international copyright law.

Biography

Early life George Lathrop was born August 25, 1851, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was medical doctor George Alfred Lathrop and his mother was Frances Maria (Smith) Lathrop. His brother was the painter Francis Lathrop.

George Parsons Lathrop attended Columbia Grammar School in New York City, then in 1867 was sent to study in Dresden in what was then the German Empire. It was in Dresden that he met Rose Hawthorne, the second daughter and youngest child of Nathaniel Hawthorne. After returning to New York in 1879, Lathrop entered Columbia College Law School. Finishing one term at Columbia, Lathrop practiced law in New York for a year. However, the need for more money prompted him to start a literary career. Lathrop soon left for London, marrying Rose in Chelsea on September 11, 1871. The couple then returned to the United States, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Literary career In 1875, Lathrop became associate editor of the Atlantic Monthly in Washington, D.C, serving there for two years. The Lathrops' only child, Francis, was born during this period. George Lathrop became editor in 1879 of the Boston Courier in Boston. He published several books for the publisher Roberts Brothers in Boston, including Afterglow (1877) and Somebody Else (1878). He also edited A Masque of Poets, a book of poetry published in the Roberts Brothers "No Name" series.

In 1879, Lathrop purchased the Hawthorne home, called "The Wayside", in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1881, after the death of Francis, the couple went to Spain so that he could write articles for Harper's Monthly. He produced a work entitled "Spanish Vistas". The Lathrops returned to the United States in 1892. They decided to move to New York City again and sold their house in Concord.

Selected works