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His schedule gave him plenty of time to devote to his philosophical and literary interests. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," Thoreau once wrote. He felt that this new approach helped him avoid the misery he saw around him. Sometimes Thoreau worked as a land surveyor or in the pencil factory. He experimented with working as little as possible rather than engage in the pattern of six days on with one day off. Seeking a simpler type of life, Thoreau flipped the standard routine of the times. In 1845, Thoreau built a small home for himself on Walden Pond, on property owned by Emerson. And Emerson gave Thoreau access to the lands that would inspire one of his greatest works. Some of Thoreau's first works were published in The Dial, a Transcendentalist magazine. Emerson also used his influence to promote Thoreau's literary efforts. For a time, Thoreau lived with Emerson as a caretaker for his home. Thoreau came to know many of the movement's leading figures, including Bronson Alcott and Margaret Fuller.Įmerson acted as a mentor to Thoreau and supported him in many ways. It encouraged scientific inquiry and observation. Through Emerson, he became exposed to Transcendentalism, a school of thought that emphasized the importance of empirical thinking and of spiritual matters over the physical world. Thoreau then went to work for his father for a time.Īfter college, Thoreau befriended writer and fellow Concord resident Ralph Waldo Emerson. The venture collapsed a few years later after John became ill. With his brother John, he set up a school in 1838. Other college graduates went into education, a path he briefly followed. At the time, an educated man like Thoreau might pursue a career in law or medicine or in the church. He graduated from college in 1837 and struggled with what do to next. According to some reports, Thoreau had to take a break from his schooling for a time because of illness. There he studied Greek and Latin as well as German. His father operated a local pencil factory, and his mother rented out parts of the family's home to boarders.Ī bright student, Thoreau eventually went to Harvard College (now Harvard University).

He was born and raised in Concord, Massachusetts, along with his older siblings John and Helen and younger sister Sophia. One of America's most famous writers, Henry David Thoreau is remembered for his philosophical and naturalist writings. He also became known for his beliefs in Transcendentalism and civil disobedience and was a dedicated abolitionist. In 1845 he began his famous two-year stay on Walden Pond, which he wrote about in his masterwork, Walden. Henry David Thoreau began writing nature poetry in the 1840s, with poet Ralph Waldo Emerson as a mentor and friend.