Sparks, Jared

Jared (1789-1866), an American clergyman, educator, and historian. He was a native of Cambridge and was graduated at Harvard in 1815. From 1819 to 1823 he was the pastor of the Unitarian Church of Baltimore. From 1839 to 1849 he was professor of history at Harvard, and was its president from 1849 to 1853. Before his residence at Baltimore and again after his return to Boston, he was the general editor and part owner of the North American Review. He traveled extensively. As a historian, he was one of the earliest to apply himself to original sources. He is known chiefly as the editor of the Correspondence of George Washington, with a Life of the Author, The Works of Benjamin Franklin, The Library of American Biography, etc. The latter included lives of Arnold, Allen, Marquette, and La Salle. Modern historians have found much fault with Sparks' custom of omitting, or even slightly modifying, portions of his material for fear of injuring the mind or morals of the young reader. His works are readable, but have been superseded. His collection of books is owned by Cornell University.