ADAMS, Henry Brooks [1838-1918] -- American historian

Wiki: Henry Brooks Adams

He was an historian, a political biographer and a philosopher, living in Washington, DC. Son of Charles Francis Adams (1807-86), ¤ grandson of John Quincy Adams (1767-1848). ¤

Although born into a tradition of elite political, social, and intellectual leadership and activism, Henry Adams remained essentially an observer rather than a participant in the robust American life of the 1860-1912 period.

When his wife committed suicide in 1885, Adams commissioned the well-known sculptor, Saint-Gaudens, to create a most unusual work to be placed at her gravesite in Washington, DC. It is a slightly larger than life bronze of a robed woman, seated, with eyes closed, perhaps in meditation. A deeply personal work, it is untitled. There are no markings even to identify who is buried there.