The Biographical Dictionary of America/Del Mar, Alexander

 

Del Mar, Alexander, mining engineer and economist, was born in New York city, Aug. 9, 1836; son of Jacques and Belvidera Del Mar. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors were among the earliest settlers in the British colonies in America. His father, a descendantAn image should appear at this position in the text. of the Del Mar family of Tioga county, Pa., was born in Spain, and was for twenty-five years an officer of the U.S treasury; and his mother was born in Baltimore, Md. Alexander was educated in the public and polytechnic schools, and at the University of the city of New York, and in 1854 was appointed financial editor of the American Daily Times. He subsequently became the managing editor of Hunt's Merchant's Magazine and the Financial and Commercial Chronicle. He was editor of the Social Science Review, 1864–66; and in the latter year organized the U.S. bureau of statistics, of which he was the director, 1866–69. In 1872 he was nominated by Mr. Greeley's friends for the secretaryship of the treasury. The same year he represented the United States at the International statistical congress in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1876 he was appointed mining commissioner to the U.S. monetary commission, and in 1878, clerk of the committee on naval expenditures, U.S. house of representatives. His works include: Gold Money and Paper Money (1862); Essays in Political Economy (1865); The National Banking System (1865); The International Almanac, or Statistical Handbook (1866); What is Free Trade? (1868); Letter on the Finances (1868); The Suppressed Report on the Tariff (1869); The Resources, Production, and Social Condition of Egypt, Spain, Prussia, France, Russia, Bavaria, etc. (1874); History of the Precious Metals (1880); History of Money in Ancient States (1884); The Science of Money (1885); History of Monetary Systems (1896); Politics of Money (1896); Money and Civilization (1896); Ancient Britain (1898); The Halcyon Age of England (1898), etc. In 1899 he was engaged in completing his Middle Ages Revisited, the result of twelve years' study in the great libraries of London, Paris and Rome.