Powers, Hiram

Hiram (1805-1873), an American sculptor. He was a native of Woodstock, Vermont. He died at Florence, Italy. He was educated in the district schools. The family moved to Ohio. He served an apprenticeship as a clockmaker and "found himself" in charge of the waxwork department of a museum in Cincinnati. He showed so much ability in modeling wax figures of notable people that he was encouraged to move to Washington. Here he modeled the busts of a number of distinguished men. In 1837 he set up a studio at Florence, Italy, where he resided for the rest of his life. His most noted statues are Eve Tempted and The Greek Slave. The latter has been copied widely. Powers executed the statue of Webster for Boston. He also made statues of Franklin and Jefferson, a statue of Washington for the state of Louisiana and of Calhoun for South Carolina. He made busts of Adams, Everett, Van Buren, Longfellow, and Jackson.

Powhattan (1550-1618), a Virginian chieftain. By rights the name is that of the tribe he ruled. See Pocahontas