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Charles Dudley Warner
Overview
Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) was an American author, journalist, and editor best known for co-authoring “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today” (1873) with Mark Twain — the satirical novel whose title gave the post-Civil War era of rapid industrialization and political corruption its enduring name. He later edited Harper’s Magazine and published widely read travel books, essays, and fiction. Warner graduated from Hamilton College with the Class of 1851, and the Hamilton College Catalogue for 1848–49 provides primary-source confirmation of his enrollment as a Sophomore.
Relevance to Research
Warner appears by name in the Hamilton College Catalogue for 1848–49, listed as a Sophomore from Cazenovia, New York, with room assignment 20 K.H. (Kirkland Hall, also called Middle College). He is enrolled among approximately 45 Sophomores in a student body of 158 total. The catalog is the earliest surviving Hamilton source to document his presence at the college. His listing alongside fellow Sophomore Daniel Willard Fiske — also later notable as a Scandinavian scholar and Cornell librarian — illustrates the caliber of students in the class. The source note for the catalog flags his identification as requiring manual verification, but his name, listed hometown of Cazenovia, and class year are fully consistent with his known biography.
Notes
Role: Alumnus, Hamilton College Class of 1851 Key events: - Listed as a Sophomore in the Hamilton College Catalogue 1848–49, enrolled from Cazenovia, New York - Assigned room 20 K.H. (Kirkland Hall / Middle College) in 1848–49 - Enrolled under President Rev. Simeon North, LL.D., in a student body of 158 students - Graduated Hamilton College 1851 (consistent with Sophomore standing in 1848–49) - Co-authored “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today” (1873) with Mark Twain; the novel gave its name to the Gilded Age era - Became editor of Harper’s Magazine and a prominent American essayist and travel writer - Classmate in the Sophomore year of Daniel Willard Fiske, later a noted Scandinavian scholar and Cornell librarian