John Sullivan Dwight
John Sullivan Dwight was a prominent 19th-century American figure known for his contributions to music and literature. Born to Dr. John Dwight and Mary Corey Dwight, he was educated at Boston Latin School and Harvard University, graduating in 1832. After further studies at Harvard Divinity School, he briefly served as a minister before joining the utopian Brook Farm community in 1841, where he published works on education and association. Following the dissolution of Brook Farm, Dwight became an influential music editor, notably for The Harbinger and later for the Boston Commonwealth and Sartain's Magazine. He founded Dwight's Journal of Music in 1852, which gained a significant following with around one thousand subscribers. In addition to his editorial work, he advocated for the inclusion of music in Harvard's curriculum. Dwight's personal life was marked by tragedy; his wife, Mary Bullard, passed away during his trip to Europe in 1860, a loss that deeply affected his perspective on music. Throughout his life, Dwight remained a significant cultural figure in Boston until his retirement in 1881.
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Subject Terms
John Sullivan Dwight
Music Critic
- Born: May 13, 1813
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: September 5, 1893
Biography
John Sullivan Dwight was the first of four children born to Dr. John Dwight, who went from Calvinism to free-thinking to being a physician, and Mary Corey Dwight. He attended Boston Latin School in Massachusetts and then went on to Harvard, where he graduated in 1832. Two years later, Dwight started at Harvard Divinity School and completed his studies in 1836. In the four years following his graduation, Dwight acted as a temporary minister wherever he was needed. In 1841, he joined the Brook Farm community, where he published A Lecture on Association in Its Connection with Education. Dwight had been at Brook Farm for six years when the community fell apart. He left and returned to Boston. He then edited The Harbinger until its collapse in 1849. Two years later, Dwight became music editor of the Boston Commonwealth and Sartain’s Magazine. In 1852, he started Dwight’s Journal of Music, which was a successful publication that had one thousand subscribers. Dwight remained in Boston’s music scene until 1881, but had to close down his journal before he went bankrupt.
He married Mary Bullard, a singer he met while at Brook Farm, in 1851. Dwight took his only trip to Europe in 1860 and spent seventeen months there. While he was away, though, his wife unexpectedly died. Dwight was devastated when he came home, though his grief seemed to improve his take on music and the way he observed it for his journal. Dwight made an incredible effort to make music part of Harvard University’s curriculum. Not only was he a Boston journalist in the nineteenth century, he was also a cultural icon and a man of many accomplishments.