The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Knapp, Samuel Lorenzo

KNAPP, Samuel Lorenzo, an American author, born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1784, died in Hopkinton, Mass., July 8, 1838. He graduated at Dartmouth college in 1804, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Massachusetts. He made his first appearance as an author in “Travels of Ali Bey” (18mo, Boston, 1818), a work purporting to give an eastern traveller's experiences of society in Boston and Cambridge. It was followed in 1821 by “Biographical Sketches of Eminent Lawyers and Statesmen and Men of Letters.” In 1828, having previously been connected as editor or contributor with several literary journals, he established himself in New York in the practice of his profession. Among his remaining works are: “Lectures on American Literature” (New York, 1829); “Sketches of Public Characters” (1830); “American Biography” (1833); “Life of Aaron Burr” (1835); “The Bachelor and other Tales” (1836); and “Female Biography of different Ages and Nations.” He was the author of a variety of occasional public addresses.