Everett, Edward (1794-1865), an American statesman, was considered one of the greatest orators of his day. He was the chief speaker in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 19, 1863, the day that Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address (see Lincoln, Abraham (The Gettysburg Address)). Everett was impressed by Lincoln’s logic and ability to say so much in so few words. He declared Lincoln’s speech would live for generations.
Everett was born on April 11, 1794, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. At 19, he became a Unitarian minister, but resigned from his first pastorate in less than two years. He studied in Germany and England and returned to become professor of Greek literature at Harvard College. For four years, he was editor of the North American Review. Then he served five terms in Congress. He was governor of Massachusetts from 1836 to 1840, U.S. minister to the United Kingdom from 1841 to 1845, and president of Harvard from 1846 to 1849. In 1852, he became secretary of state in President Millard Fillmore’s Cabinet. Soon after, Everett was elected U.S. senator from Massachusetts. He resigned from his Senate post in 1854. In 1860, he was the Constitutional Union Party’s candidate for vice president (see Constitutional Union Party). He died on Jan. 15, 1865.
