Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Hirst, Henry Beck

HIRST, Henry Beck, poet, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 23 Aug., 1813; d. there 30 March, 1874. He studied law, but was not admitted to the bar till 1843, his studies having been interrupted by mercantile pursuits. His first poems were published in “Graham's Magazine.” He afterward wrote “A Poetical Dictionary, or Popular Terms illustrated in Rhyme” (Lenox, Mass.); “The Coming of the Mammoth, and other Poems” (Boston, 1845); “Endymion, a Tale of Greece” (1848); and “The Penance of Roland” (1849).