Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/42

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HACKETT
HACKETT

Georgia delegation to vote for the appropriation which, carried by a majority of three, enabled Morse to construct his first telegraph-line, from Washington to Baltimore. He was the author of the minority report on the tariff in 1842. — His son, Alexander Wylly, naval officer, b. in New York city, 24 March, 1826; d. in Baltimore, Md., 26 March, 1883, entered the navy as midshipman in 1841, became passed midshipman in 1847, master, 14 Sept., 1855, and lieutenant on the following day. On 30 May, 1860, he resigned from the service and became a merchant in Japan, being the first to in- troduce Japanese tea into this country. He re- turned at the beginning of the civil war, and was for six months a prisoner in Fort McHenry. After the war he engaged in business in Baltimore, which he pursued until his death. Besides numerous arti- cles in periodicals he published " My Last Cruise," an account of the U. S. North Pacific exploring expedition (2d ed., Philadelphia, 1857).


HACKETT, Horatio Balch, biblical scholar, b. in Salisbury, Mass., 27 Dec, 1808 ; d. in Roches- ter, N. Y., 2 Nov., 1875. He was graduated at Am- herst in 1830, studied theology at Andover seminary until 1834, and afterward at Halle and Berlin, in Germany. He became a tiitor in Amherst, in 1835 professor of ancient languages in Brown univer- sity, and in 1839 of biblical literature in Newton theological institution. In 1851-2 he travelled in Italy, Egypt, Palestine, and other countries. In 1858-'9 he resided several months in Athens, for the purpose of studying modern Greek, as auxiliary to the interpretation of the New Testament, and visited places in and near Greece possessing a bib- lical interest. In 1869 he resigned his professor- ship at Newton, and in 1870 became professor of New Testament Greek in Rochester theologi- cal seminary. In 1862 Amherst conferred on him the degrees of D. D. and LL. D. He published Plutarch's " De Sera Numinis Vindicta," with notes (Andover, 1844) ; translated and enlarged Winer's " Chaldee Grammar " (1845) ; and issued a " Hebrew Grammar " and " Hebrew Reader " (1847) ; a " Com- mentary on the Acts " (Boston, 1851 ; new ed., greatly extended, 1858) ; " Illustrations of Scrip- ture suggested by a Tour through the Holy Land " (1855); translation of the "Epistle to Philemon, with Notes " (1860) ; " Memorials of Christian Men in the War" (1864); translation of Van Ooster- zee's " Commentary on Philemon," for Schaff 's edi- tion of Lange's " Commentary " (1868) ; and trans- lation of Braune's " Commentary on Philippians," with additions, for Lange's " Commentary " (1870). He contributed to the English edition of Smith's " Dictionary of the Bible," and with Dr. Ezra Ab- bott edited the American edition. He also edited the American edition of Rawlinson's " Historical Illustrations of the Old Testament," with notes and appendix (1873). He was one of the Ameri- can revisers of the English Bible, and contributed much to religious periodicals.


HACKETT, James Henry, actor, b. in New York city, 15 March, 1800 ; d. in Jamaica, L. I., 28 Dec, 1871. He was educated at Union Hill acad- emy, Flushing, L. I., in 1815 studied a year in Columbia, and for a short time read law. In 1817 he entered a counting-room, and two years after- ward married Katherine Lee-Sugg, an actress. He then removed to Utica, N. Y., to begin business for himself. In 1819 Hackett returned to his na- tive place, and engaged in commercial ventures that led to his financial ruin. He had always a predilection for the stage, as a boy had joined an amateur association, and in 1816 went so far as to appear several times, under an assumed name, with a strolling company in Newark, N. J. After his business failure, inclination and the en- couragement of his wife induced him to venture before the New York public. He began his ca- reer in the part of Justice Woodcock in "Love in a Village," and on succeeding nights per- formed as Sylvester Doggerwood, a part wherein he gave striking imitations of noted actors, sketches of Yankee charac- ters, and a capital representation of one of the Dromios in Shakespeare's " Com- edy of Errors." In the latter he close- ly copied the Jewish visage and peculiar farcical drawl of John Barnes, a noted comedian. His rep- resentations of Yan- kees, western pio- neers, and French- men assured his suc- cess, and on 6 April, 1827, he sought to extend his reputation

by appearing at the

Covent Garden and Surrey theatres in London. He repeated the experiment of appearing before a London public in 1832, 1840, 1845, and 1851, but failed to win success. Returning in 1828, he played Richard III., Monsieur Morbleau, in imitation of Charles Matthews, Rip Van Winkle, Solomon Swop, and Col. Nimrod Wildfire — a wide range of characters. Hackett's " Monsieur Tonson, come again," spoken in the French farce, was for many years a common quotation, and more than once repeated in speeches delivered in congress. His characterization of Rip Van Winkle was that of a genuine Hollander of the heavy Knickerbocker style, entirely unlike Jefferson's Germanized representation. Solomon Swop was the first well-drawn character of the conventional stage Yankee. "Col. Wildfire " was an extravaganza founded on the combined characters of Col. Bowie and Daniel Boone. Such were the beginnings of American comedy, all of which must be placed to the credit of James Henry Hackett. In 1829, for a brief period, he became co-manager of the New York Bowery theatre, and for a season manager of the Chatham. Abandoning management, he again made tours throughout the Union, winning a fair degree of success. He became lessee of the New York National theatre in 1837, and was eventually interested in the Astor Place opera-house. In 1840 Hackett added to his repertory O'Callaghan, an Irish character : Sir Pertinax MacSycophant, a Scottish part ; and the Shakespearian roles of Falstaff, Hamlet, and King Lear. Hackett's Hamlet was a pronounced failure ; Lear possessed many points of interest that caused much critical comment ; but his Falstaff, for many years, remained the best on the English stage. In 1854 Hackett brought to this country the famous Italian singers Grisi and Mario for a tour of eight months. This venture yielded him a handsome return, and for years thereafter he led a retired life. His last public engagement was in 1871, as manager of the Howard athenaeum in Boston. Hackett was a polished gentleman, and the intimate companion of Irving, Paulding, Cooper, Halleck, John Quincy Adams, and other notabilities of his day. He published " Notes and Comments on Shakspeare " (New York, 1863). — His wife, Katherine, actress, b. in England about 1797 ; d. in Jamaica, L. I.,