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'''Henry David Thoreau''' (1817-1862) was an American writer and philosopher, and along with [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], a major figure in the Transcendentalist movement. He is perhaps best known for his writings ''Walden'', his account of a two year period in which he lived in relative solitude in Walden Pond in Massachusetts, and ''Civil Disobedience'', which depicts his refusal to pay a tax that would support the Mexican-American War and his resulting arrest.

'''Henry David Thoreau''' (1817-1862) was an American writer and philosopher, and along with [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], a major figure in the [[Transcendentalist]] movement. He is perhaps best known for his book ''Walden'', an account of a two year period during which he lived in relative solitude near the shores of Walden Pond in Massachusetts, and ''Civil Disobedience'', an essay which depicts his arrest for refusing to pay a tax that would support the Mexican-American War and slavery.

Thoreau is sometimes thought of as a sort of 1800s [[hippie]],{{fact-history}} but in fact Thoreau was completely serious about carrying on the family business, which was the manufacturing of pencils. He made significant improvements in their manufacture, and engineered a machine for grinding "plumbago" ([[graphite]]) finer, to produce a higher-quality "lead." Thoreau pencils were regarded as being among the best manufactured in the U. S.<ref>Petroski, Henry (1989), "H. D. Thoreau, Engineer." ''American Heritage of Invention and Technology,'' volume 5, issue 2[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1989/2]</ref><!--Also in Petroski's 1992 book, "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance"--->

Thoreau is sometimes mistakenly thought of as a sort of hermit or vagabond, but in fact he was completely serious about carrying on the family business, a pencil factory. He made significant improvements in their manufacture, and engineered a machine for grinding "plumbago" ([[graphite]]) finer, to produce a higher-quality "lead." Thoreau pencils were regarded as being among the best manufactured in the U. S.<ref>Petroski, Henry (1989), "H. D. Thoreau, Engineer." ''American Heritage of Invention and Technology,'' volume 5, issue 2[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1989/2]</ref><!--Also in Petroski's 1992 book, "The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance"--->

 

==Notes and references==

==Notes and references==