Harry Croswell
| Harry Croswell | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
June 16, 1778 West Hartford, Connecticut |
| Died | March 13, 1858 (aged 79) New Haven, Connecticut |
| Known for | Role in People v. Croswell defending freedom of the press |
Harry Croswell (June 16, 1778 – March 13, 1858) was a crusading political journalist, a publisher, author, and an Episcopal Church clergyman. Though largely self-educated, he received an honorary degree of A. M. from Yale College in 1817, an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut in 1831 – an institution he co-founded – established the first public lectures in New Haven, and founded an evening school for the education of adult African-Americans in the city. He was a key figure in first amendment battles over freedom of the press and religious freedom. After abandoning politics for religion, he became the much respected Rector of Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut, for forty-three years, growing his church and establishing seven new churches within the original limits of his parish. Though he published fourteen books, and wrote newspaper articles as an editor and journalist weekly for eleven years, he is best known as an author for being the first person to define the word cocktail in print.
Croswell was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, on June 16, 1778. His immigrant ancestor Thomas Croswell (1633 – 1682) left Staffordshire, England, at the age of 22, and sailed to Boston, according to a biographer, "on account of the tumultuous state of affairs in that country, about the time of Cromwell's usurpation of the supreme power." The family thrived: they eventually owned a farm with a large house or "mansion" on Prospect Hill in Somerville, Massachusetts near Boston, which was later used by General George Washington as his headquarters during the 11-month siege of the British occupied city.
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