Paulding, James Kirke, 1778-1860

Dates

• Existence: 1778 - 1860

Biography

James Kirke Paulding (August 22, 1778 – April 6, 1860) was an American writer and, for a time, the United States Secretary of the Navy. Paulding 's early writings were satirical and violently anti-British, as shown in "The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan" (1812). He wrote numerous long poems and serious histories. Among his novels are "Konigsmarke, the Long Finne" (1823) and "The Dutchman's Fireside" (1831). He is best known for creating the inimitable Nimrod Wildfire, the “half horse, half alligator” in The Lion of the West (1831), and as collaborator with William Irving and Washington Irving in "Salmagundi." (1807-08). Paulding was also, by the mid-1830s, an ardent and outspoken defender of slavery, and he later endorsed southern secession from the union.

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