Nathan Covington Brooks

(Born: August 12, 1809 - Died: October 6, 1898)

American clergyman, editor, educator, author and poet. Born in West Nottingham, Cecil County, MD, to John and Mary Brooks. He studied for three years at the West Nottingham Academny, under the direction of Rev. James Magraw, and completed a degree of Master of Arts at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. He began his teaching career at the age of 16, in Charlestown, MD. In 1831, he became the Principal of the Franklin Academy, in Reisterstown, MD. In 1834, he moved to the Brookeville Academy in Montgomery County, MD. He was subsequently offered a position at the Bel Air Academy, but decided instead to pursue a career in literature. With J. E. Snodgrass, he founded the American Museum (September 1838 - May 1839). In 1839, he returned to the field of education, and was appointed as Principal of the newly established Baltimore High School, where he remained for nine years. In 1848, he organized the Baltimore Female College, which was chartered by the Maryland legislature in 1849. He was granted a degree of L.L.D. by Emory College, Oxford, GA in July 1859. Brooks was married twice, first to Mary Elizabeth Gobright on May 8, 1828, and later to Christiana Octavia Crump on June 26, 1867. Between these two marriages, he had 11 children, several of whom died in infancy. Among his own works are The Complete History of the Mexican War (1845), Battlefields of the Revolution; History of the Church; several religious manuals, at least three language textbooks on Latin and Greek, and a number of well-respected editions of the classical writings of Virgil and Ovid.