Gulian Crommelin Verplanck - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Gulian Crommelin Verplanck (August 6, 1786 – March 18, 1870) was a New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

politician and sometime man of letters.

Biography

Verplanck was born in Wall Street

Wall Street

Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, the son of Congressman Daniel C. Verplanck

Daniel C. Verplanck

Daniel Crommelin Verplanck was a United States Representative from New York. Born in New York City, he was educated under private tutors and graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1788...

. He graduated B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

from Columbia College in 1801, then studied law with Josiah Ogden Hoffman

Josiah Ogden Hoffman

Ogden Hoffman was an American lawyer and politician.Hoffman was the son of New York State Attorney General Josiah Ogden Hoffman and Mary Hoffman. He pursued classical studies and graduated from Columbia College in 1812...

and was admitted to the bar in 1807. On October 2, 1811, he married Mary Eliza Fenno, a daughter of John Fenno

John Fenno

John Fenno , was a Federalist Party editor and major figure in the history of American newspapers. His Gazette of the United States played a major role in shaping the beginnings of party politics in the United States in the 1790s.-Biography:Fenno was born in Boston, the son of Ephraim Fenno,...

and the sister of J. O. Hoffman's second wife. The couple had two sons, but while traveling abroad, Mary Verplanck died in 1817 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

and was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...

.

Verplanck was a member of the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

in 1820-21, 1822 and 1823. He was a professor at the General Theological Seminary

General Theological Seminary

The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....

in New York City from 1821 to 1824, and one of the governors of the New York Hospital

NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...

from 1823 to 1865. In 1826, he was elected a regent of the University of the State of New York

University of the State of New York

The University of the State of New York is the State of New York's governmental umbrella organization responsible for most institutions and people in any way connected with formal educational functions, public and private, in New York State...

, and in 1858 became its Vice Chancellor, remaining in office until his death.

He was elected as Jacksonian to the 19th

19th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: John C. Calhoun * President pro tempore: John Gaillard , until December 4, 1825** Nathaniel Macon , from May 20, 1826- House of Representatives :* Speaker: John W. Taylor -Members:...

, 20th

20th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: John C. Calhoun * President pro tempore: Samuel Smith - House of Representatives :* Speaker: Andrew Stevenson -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...

, and as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

to the 21st

21st United States Congress

and 22nd United States Congress

22nd United States Congress

-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President:** John C. Calhoun , resigned December 28, 1832, thereafter vacant.* President pro tempore:** Samuel Smith , first elected December 5, 1831** Littleton W...

es, holding office from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1833. He was Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means

United States House Committee on Ways and Means

The Committee of Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party's congressional leadership...

(22nd Congress). In 1833, when President Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

began his quest to suppress the Second Bank of the United States

Second Bank of the United States

The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...

, Verplanck left the Democrats.

In April 1834, at the first popular election for Mayor of New York City

Mayor of New York City

The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...

, Verplanck was the candidate of the emerging Whig Party but was narrowly defeated (sources range from 181 to 213 votes) by Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence

Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence

Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence was a politician from New York. He became the first popularly elected Mayor of New York City after the law was changed in 1834.-Biography:...

. Afterwards Verplanck kept his own counsel in politics and supported William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison

William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...

(Whig), James K. Polk

James K. Polk

James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...

(Dem.), Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

(Whig) and James Buchanan

James Buchanan

James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

(Dem.) for President, remaining a Democrat thereafter.

Verplanck was a member of the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

(1st D.) from 1838 to 1841. He was President of the Board of Commissioners of Immigration from 1846 until his death. He was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1867-68.

In his literary life, Verplanck was a contributor to the North American Review
North American Review
The North American Review was the first literary magazine in the United States. Founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others, it was published continuously until 1940, when publication was suspended due to J. H. Smyth, who had purchased the magazine, being unmasked as a Japanese...

, perhaps best known for his denunciation of Knickerbocker's History of New York (by Washington Irving

Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...

) and his verse satires against Dewitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton

DeWitt Clinton was an early American politician and naturalist who served as United States Senator and the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal...

generally known as The Bucktail Bards. His writing has put him as a member of the so-called "Knickerbocker group

The Knickerbocker

The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, was a literary magazine of New York City, founded by Charles Fenno Hoffman in 1833, and published until 1865 under various titles, including:...

", a group which also included Irving, William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant

William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...

, James Kirke Paulding

James Kirke Paulding

James Kirke Paulding was an American writer and, for a time, the United States Secretary of the Navy.-Biography:...

, Fitz-Greene Halleck

Fitz-Greene Halleck

Fitz-Greene Halleck was an American poet notable for his satires and as one of the Knickerbocker Group. Born and reared in Guilford, Connecticut, he went to New York City at the age of 20, and lived and worked there for nearly four decades. He was sometimes called "the American Byron"...

, Joseph Rodman Drake

Joseph Rodman Drake

Joseph Rodman Drake was an early American poet.- Biography :Born in New York City, he was orphaned when young and entered a mercantile house. While still a child, he showed a talent for writing poems. He was educated at Columbia. In 1813 he began studying in a physician's office...

, Robert Charles Sands

Robert Charles Sands

Robert Charles Sands was an American writer and poet....

, Lydia Maria Child, and Nathaniel Parker Willis

Nathaniel Parker Willis

Nathaniel Parker Willis , also known as N. P. Willis, was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He became the highest-paid magazine writer of his day. For a time, he was the employer of former...

.

Verplanck was one of the founding members of the Century Club

Century Association

__notoc__The Century Association is a private club in New York City. It evolved out of an earlier organization – the Sketch Club, founded in 1829 by editor and poet William Cullen Bryant and his friends – and was established in 1847 by Bryant and others as a club to promote interest in...

and was its President at the time of his death..

Verplanck died at his residence in 14th Street in New York City on March 18, 1870, and was buried at the Trinity Churchyard in Fishkill, New York

Fishkill, New York

Fishkill is an upscale village within the much larger town, Town of Fishkill, one of the fastest growing towns in the region, in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The village population was 1,735 at the 2000 census...

Biography

See also