The New Student's Reference Work/Martineau, Harriet

Martineau (mär′ tĭ-nō), Harriet, was born at Norwich, England, June 12, 1802.  Her father was a manufacturer and gave her a good education.  Before she was 20 she began to write for the magazines, and in 1829 the failure of the firm in which she and her mother and sisters had placed their money obliged her to earn her own living.  A series of stories, Illustrations of Political Economy, which she brought out in 1832, made her widely known.  In 1834 she came to America for two years, and soon after published Society in America.  Among her books are four volumes of children’s tales; Forest and Game-Law Tales; Laws of Man’s Social Nature and Development; Deerbrook; and Biographical Sketches.  One or her most important works was the careful translation of Comte’s Positive Philosophy.  Miss Martineau was a vigorous thinker, seeing clearly and saying clearly what she had to say.  She died in Westmoreland on June 27, 1876.  See her Autobiography.