Henry David Thoreau was one of the most important prose writers of the nineteenth-century United States. His Walden provides one of the most passionate, deep and affecting evocations of the value of living simply and close to nature, and his essay “Resistance to Civil Government” [“Civil Disobedience”] provides one of the most trenchant democratic critiques of democracy and has influenced many pacifists and exponents of non-violent protest.
Henry David Thoreau (christened David Henry) was born on July 12, 1817, to John and Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts. His father was at first a merchant and later a manufacturer of pencils, and his mother kept a boardinghouse in their home. His parents instilled in him an early love of the outdoors by taking their family on frequent hikes and picnics in the woods around Concord,...
3072 words
Citation: Schneider, Richard. "Henry David Thoreau". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 May 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4391, accessed 09 June 2026.]
