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Henry David Thoreau

ヘンリー・デイヴィッド・ソロー

Henry David Thoreau

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1817-07-12 （Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.）
Died
1862-05-06 （Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.） age 44
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Transcendentalist tendencies (pantheist elements)
Residence History
Concord (birthplace; lifelong residence) → Walden Pond area (residence during Walden experiment) → Ralph Waldo Emerson's house (lived and worked there, c.1841–1844)

Career

Occupations
naturalist, essayist, poet, philosopher, writer, teacher (brief), surveyor, pencil maker (family business)
Active Years
1837-1862
Affiliations
Transcendentalism, Hasty Pudding Club (during college), Concord Lyceum (lecture circuit)
Memberships
Associated with Thoreau-related societies (e.g. Thoreau Society)
Influenced By
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alexander von Humboldt, Indian sacred texts (e.g. Bhagavad Gita), Percy Bysshe Shelley (intellectual influence)
Influenced
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Leo Tolstoy, John Muir, E. B. White, Robert Frost

Education

Harvard College
Humanities (studied rhetoric, classics, philosophy, mathematics, science)
Degree: A.B.（学士）
Period: 1833–1837
Year of Graduation: 1837
Country: United States
Legend says he refused to pay the five-dollar fee for a Harvard master's diploma

Awards

Commemorative stamp (200th anniversary of Thoreau's birth)
2017
Organization: United States Postal Service
Result: 発行

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Walden; or, Life in the Woods

1854 Memoir / Nature writing / Essay 224 pages

A record and philosophical reflection on simple living in natural surroundings at Walden Pond, combining nature observation, social critique, and personal introspection across the seasons.

nature observationsimple livingrelations between self and societyindividualism
Translations
  • Walden (Japanese translations available)

Resistance to Civil Government ("Civil Disobedience")

1849 Political essay / Polemic 12 pages

An essay arguing for the right and moral duty of citizens to disobey unjust governments; develops the idea of tax resistance and civil disobedience.

civil disobedienceethics and politicsindividual conscience
Translations
  • Civil Disobedience (Japanese translations available)

A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers

1849 Travel narrative / Memoir 240 pages

A reflective travel narrative based on a river trip with his brother John; contains meditations on nature, history, and friendship.

travel and reminiscenceloss and memorialnatural history
Translations
  • A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (Japanese translations available)

The Maine Woods

1864 Travel writing / Nature essays 200 pages

A collection of accounts from journeys in the woods of Maine, combining natural observation with descriptions of exploration and encounters.

wilderness and explorationnatural observationhuman-nature relations
Translations
  • The Maine Woods (Japanese translations available)

Cape Cod

1865 Travel writing / Essays 160 pages

A travel account of Cape Cod with observations and reflections on geography, nature, and history.

coastal landscapesnatural historytravel and memory
Translations
  • Cape Cod (Japanese translations available)

Bibliography

  • "Aulus Persius Flaccus" (1840)
  • Walden (1854)
  • Civil Disobedience (1849)
  • A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849)
  • The Maine Woods (1864)
  • Cape Cod (1865)
  • Numerous journals, essays, and poems (including a two-million-word journal kept for 24 years)

Adaptations

  • Dramatic portrayal of Thoreau in the NBC series The Rebels (1976), actor Ron Thompson
  • Various stage performances, readings, and documentaries

Translations of Works

  • Walden — multiple Japanese translations available
  • Civil Disobedience — Japanese translations available

Style & Themes

Literary Style
natural-history-inflected observationessayistic proseconcise, rhetorical and symbolic languagefusion of poetic sensibility and philosophical reflection
Recurring Motifs
seasonal cyclessolitude and introspectionjourneying and walkingsimple living (self-sufficiency)contrasts between nature and civilization

Health

  • Tuberculosis
    1835–1862（断続的）
    Suffered from tuberculosis intermittently from 1835; illness worsened in later years, leading to bedridden condition and eventual death from the disease.

Legacy

Thoreau left a lasting influence through his nature writing, advocacy of simple living, and arguments for civil disobedience; he is regarded as a foundational figure for environmentalism, nature literature, and nonviolent resistance.

Museums

  • Thoreau Farm (birthplace museum) Concord, Massachusetts (near Virginia Road)
  • Walden Woods Project / Thoreau Institute Concord, Massachusetts

Academic Societies

  • Thoreau Society

Archives

  • Concord Free Public Library (holds Thoreau materials)
  • Thoreau Institute (Walden Woods) archives

In Popular Culture

  • United States commemorative stamp issued in 2017
  • Numerous portrayals and references in television, theatre, and documentary media

Quotes

  • I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach.
    Source: Walden, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived For" (1854)

Trivia

  • Born David Henry Thoreau; he began calling himself Henry David after college but never legally changed his name.
  • His stay at Walden Pond lasted two years, two months, and two days, though the book compresses that time into a single year.
  • Legend says he refused to pay the five-dollar fee for a Harvard master's diploma.
  • Reported last words include "Now comes good sailing" followed by the words "moose" and "Indian."