Birthplace of Sidney Lanier
Macon, Bibb County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Birthplace of Sidney Lanier. Sidney Lanier, poet, linguist, musician, mathematician & lawyer, was born in this cottage, Feb. 3, 1842. He graduated from Oglethorpe Univ. then at Milledgeville, served as a private in the Confederate Army and was captured while commanding a blockade runner. Lanier was married in 1867 to Mary Day of Macon where he practiced law with his father. Moving to Maryland he lectured at Johns Hopkins while carrying on his writing. He died at Lynn, N.C. Sept 7, 1881. Among his best known works are "The Marshes of Glynn" & "Song of the Chattahoochee." 011-6 Georgia Historic Marker 1975
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
In a modest Macon cottage in 1842, Sidney Lanier was born—a poet, musician, linguist, and lawyer of astonishing range. He served in the Confederate Army and was captured while running a blockade, an ordeal that ruined his health. Later, lecturing at Johns Hopkins while he wrote, he produced enduring works such as "The Marshes of Glynn" and "Song of the Chattahoochee" before dying young in 1881.
Why it matters
Lanier ranks among the finest Southern poets of the nineteenth century, weaving Georgia's landscapes and his musician's ear into distinctly American verse.
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Related people
- · Sidney Lanier
- · Mary Day
Themes & tags
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