CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.
GEORGE BANCROFT.
George Bancroft was born at Worcester, Mass., in 1800 and died in 1891.
He was graduated from Harvard College when he was seventeen, bearing off the second honors of his class.
The following year he sailed for Europe and spent five years studying under the most learned professors in Germany, France, and Italy.
On his return to America he became a tutor at Harvard and was afterwards connected with a classical school at Northampton.
He was deeply interested in the affairs of the nation, but refused to enter public life, as he had decided to write a history of the United States.
The first volume of this history appeared in 1834, and the series occupied his time for many years.
Mr. Bancroft held the position of secretary of the navy for about a year under President Polk. It was due to his efforts that the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., was established.
He was appointed minister to England in 1846 and remained abroad for three years.