Robert Evans Peterson (November 12, 1812 – October 30, 1894) was an American book publisher and author. Along with George William Childs, he founded the publishing house of Childs & Peterson. He was a member of the Peterson family of publishers including his brother Henry Peterson and his cousin Charles Jacobs Peterson.
Robert Evans Peterson | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 12, 1812 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 30, 1894 (aged 81) Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | publisher, writer |
| Language | American English |
| Period | Modern |
| Employer | Childs & Peterson |
| Spouse | Hannah Mary Bouvier Peterson, Blanche Gottschalk, Clara Gottschalk Peterson |
| Parents | George Peterson, Jane (Evans) Peterson |
| Relatives | Henry Peterson (brother), Charles Jacobs Peterson (cousin) |
Early life and education
editPeterson was born on November 12, 1812, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to George and Jane (Evans) Peterson.[1] He studied law under his father-in-law, John Bouvier. He was admitted to the bar but never practiced law. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, with a medical degree in 1863, but never practiced medicine.[2]
Career
editHe worked in the hardware business until 1834. He assisted his father-in-law in editing his law works. In order to absolve the debt of his clients, Daniels & Smith, booksellers, purchased their business, and operated it as R. E. Peterson & Co.[3]
On the death of John Bouvier in 1851, he partnered with George W. Childs and established the publishing house of Childs & Peterson, which became involved in 1857–58. Peterson then retired from the publishing and bookselling business and took up the study of medicine.[4]
He died on October 30, 1894, at his summer residence in Asbury Park, New Jersey[5] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[6]
Personal life
editHe married Hannah Mary Bouvier, the daughter of Judge John Bouvier. After his wife died in 1870, he was re-married, in 1872, to Blanche Gottschalk, sister of Louis M. Gottschalk, and after her death in 1879, a third time, to her sister Clara.[5]
His family included several publishers and editors: his brother Henry Peterson edited the Saturday Evening Post for twenty years, and his cousin Charles J. Peterson was an owner of the Post and founder of Peterson's Magazine.[7]
He presented Judge Bouvier's law library to the University of Pennsylvania.[3]
Publications
editHe published Bouvier's Law Dictionary and Bouvier's Institutes of American Law; Dr. Kane's Arctic Explorations; Brazil and Brazilians, and numerous text books, and was the author of: The Roman Catholic Church not the Only True Religion (1891).
- Peterson's Familiar Science; or the Scientific Explanation of Common Things., Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1866
References
edit- ^ Johnson, Rossiter (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Boston: The Biographical Society. p. 304. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (1920). American Medical Biographies. Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company. p. 910. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b James Grant Wilson; John Fiske (1888). Appletons' Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. IV. D. Appleton & Company. p. 745.
- ^ Jordan, John W. (1918). Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 181. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ a b The Publishers' Weekly Vol. XLVI July - December 1894. New York: Office of the Publishers' Weekly. 1894. p. 697. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Robert E Peterson". www.remembermyjourney.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ Peterson, Arthur (1912). "Members of the Peterson family in the publishing business in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1890". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Vol. 36. pp. 117–119.