Richard Watson Gilder

Richard Watson Gilder (February 8, 1844 - November 19, 1909) was an American poet and editor. Gilder was born on February 8, 1844 in Bordentown, New Jersey. He was the son of Jane (Nutt) Gilder and Rev. William Henry Gilder and was educated at his father's seminary in Flushing, Queens. There he learned to install the font and published the register of St. Thomas. Gilder later studied law in Philadelphia. During the Civil War in the United States, he was enlisted in the State Emergency Volunteer Police as a private in the Philadelphia Battery of Landis during the Robert Lee invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863. After the defeat of the Confederates at the Battle of Gettysburg, Gilder and his unit were assembled in August. The death of his father, when he served as chaplain of the fortieth New York volunteers, forced him to abandon the study of the law. A little later, he became a reporter for an advertiser from Newark, New Jersey, whom he later edited. Together with Newton Crane, he founded the Newark Register. In 1870, he became editor of Hours at Home, Scribner's monthly magazine. He teamed up with Scribner’s Monthly, which was edited by JJ Holland. Gilder became Managing Editor. When Holland died in 1881, Gilder became editor. In November 1881, the monthly magazine was renamed the "Journal of the Century," and Hilder remained its editor until his death.  Assistant Editor Gilder at Century was Sofia Bledso Herrick. Gilder was actively interested in all public affairs, especially those with a tendency toward reform and good government, and was a member of many New York clubs. He was one of the founders of the Society of American Architects, the Copyright Club, and the International Copyright League. He was the founder of the Anti-Corruption League and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Literature. He was a close friend of George MacDonald, a Scottish poet, writer, and preacher. They collaborated on various projects, such as MacDonald's American lecture tour in the 1870s. Gilder received his doctorate in law. from Dickinson College in 1883. Gilder died on November 19, 1909.