# Henry David Thoreau

## Biography

Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. A prominent American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher, he later reversed his given names. Thoreau graduated from Harvard College in 1837 and became a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement, befriending Ralph Waldo Emerson, who greatly influenced his intellectual journey.

He is best known for his book Walden, a profound reflection on simple living in natural surroundings, detailing his two-year experiment at Walden Pond. His influential essay "Civil Disobedience" advocated for individual resistance to an unjust government, a concept that later inspired figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout his life, Thoreau worked various jobs, including pencil maker, teacher, and surveyor, but dedicated much of his time to observing nature and writing in his extensive journals. His work consistently explored themes of nature, self-reliance, and societal critique. He passed away in Concord on May 6, 1862.

## Books

- [Walden](https://samolit.com/books/4882)