Vol. 2 - April - No. 20
Albert Gallatinb. Geneva, 29 Jan 1761; d. Astoria, 12 Aug 1849
Deeply imbued with the bold and liberal spirit of the times, he came to America amidst the scenes of her Revolution and after very many years of service in Congress and in Executive offices of the highest trust at an advanced age he withdrew to private life and passed the remainder of his days in philosophic studies and literary pursuits and went down to the grave universally honored. (from his headstone)Albert Gallatin, honored banker and diplomat, served as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison from 1801-14. He was an American diplomat to France for another 13 years and then to Great Britain for a year before
moving to New York City in 1827. He formed close associations with financier John Jacob Astor during his years in government and once settled in New York, became the first president of the National Bank of New York City. He exercised great influence as a banker and was an active participant in political, intellectual, and cultural life in the city. He was a founding trustee of New York University, a founder and president of the American Ethnological Society, and a president of the New York Historical Society. He published extensively on American Indian languages and during the last years of his life, denounced American participation in the Mexican-American War. He died in 1849 and was buried at Trinity Church Yard in Lower Manhattan.learn more about this fascinating subject:
Portrait of Albert Gallatin by Matthew Wilson
Vital American Biography: Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin, A Leading Force of a New Nation
Iron hulled, U.S. Revenue Cutter, Albert Gallatin
Office of Public Correspondence sketch of Albert Gallatin
Map of the Indian Tribes of North America (from Albert Gallatin's "A synopsis of the Indian Tribes of North America", 1836)
