Samuel Stillman Conant (December 11, 1831—after January 1885) was an American journalist, author, and literary editor. He edited Harper's Weekly from 1869 to his disappearance in 1885.

Biography

Samuel Stillman Conant was born in Waterville, Maine, on December 11, 1831, to Thomas Jefferson Conant, a reverend, and Hanna O'Brien Conant née Chaplin. His parents were well known biblical scholars. He was educated at Madison University in Hamilton, New York, before spending several years studying across Europe, in cities including Berlin, Heidelberg, and Munich. Conant returned to the United States in 1860, when he entered into the field of journalism. He worked as managing editor of The New York Times from 1862 to 1869, resigning after Henry Jarvis Raymond died.[1][2][3]

In 1875 he published a translation from Russian to English of Circassian Boy by Mikhail Lermontov.[1][2] Conant was one of the most prominent art critics of his era.[4] He published some criticism for The Galaxy in 1885.[5]

He then became managing editor at Harper's Weekly, a post he held until he disappeared in January 1885.[1]

Disappearance

Conant left his office on January 16, 1885, and was never heard from again.[3][6] In 1890, a skeleton was found in Rockaway Beach, Long Island, that was thought by some to be his body.[7]

Personal life

Conant married Helen Charlotte Peters Stevens in 1858; the couple had one child, Thomas Peters.[1]

He was a member of the Century Club.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans ... Biographical Society.
  2. 1 2 Adams, Oscar Fay (1899). A Dictionary of American Authors. Houghton, Mifflin. p. 71.
  3. 1 2 3 Harper, Joseph Henry (1912). The House of Harper: A Century of Publishing in Franklin Square. Harper & brothers. pp. 256–257. ISBN 978-0-598-77946-5.
  4. ↑ Mott, Frank Luther (1967). A History of American Magazines Volume III: 1865-1885. Harvard University Press. p. 184. LCCN 39-2823.
  5. ↑ Mott 1967, p. 363.
  6. ↑ Watkins, John Elfreth (1919). Famous Mysteries: Curious and Fantastic Riddles of Human Life that Have Never Been Solved. John C. Winston Company. pp. 143–147.
  7. ↑ "A Skeleton in the Dunes.; The Disappearance of Stillman S. Conant Recalled". The New York Times. 1890-12-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
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