George Perkins Marsh was an American diplomat and philologist, and is considered to be America's first environmentalist, although most say conservationist. Marsh was born in Woodstock, Vermont on March 15, 1801 to a prominent family. His father Charles Marsh had been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. George graduated from Dartmouth College in 1820 with highest honors. He then studied law in Burlington, Vermont and also devoted himself to philological studies. In 1835, Marsh was appointed to the Executive Council of Vermont and from 1843 to 1849, he was a Whig representative in Congress. In 1849, Marsh was appointed United States minister resident in the Ottoman Empire by President Zachary Taylor. He helped to bring civil and religious toleration in the empire. In 1852, he discharged a mission to Greece in connection with the imprisonment of American missionary Jonas King. He accomplished this task with such vigor the he surprised even the diplomats of Athens and become well respected there.
Marsh returned to Vermont in 1854 and while there was appointed to handle many environmental issues. Then in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Marsh to be the first United States minister to the Kingdom of Italy. He became the longest-serving chief of mission in U.S. history, seving for 21 years. He died at Vallombrosa Abbey in 1882.
Before his death, he wrote a book called
Man and Nature, which was an early work on ecology, and played a role in the creation of the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. Marsh always argued that deforestation could lead to desertification. Marsh also did some lectures for college students, mostly about the English language and literature.
George Marsh was a remarkable philologist for his day, and an excellent scholar, knowing quite a bit of military science, engraving and physics, as well as many languages. He was a great influence on American philology and environmentalism.
