George Livermore

George Livermore (July 10, 1809 – August 30, 1865) was an American antiquarian, bibliographer, and historian, known chiefly as a book collector. He developed in his lifetime what was recognized as one of the finest private libraries in the United States and his library included many rare and one-of-a-kind bibles like some printed by Johannes Gutenberg. Livermore owned twenty-six volumes (almost a complete set) of the Massachusetts Historical Society's Collections. He wrote newspaper articles from time to time. Harvard College awarded Livermore an honorary Master of Arts, although he dropped out of school at the age of fourteen. Early life Livermore was born July 10, 1809, at Cambridgeport, Massachusetts. His parents were Deacon Nathaniel Livermore and Elizabeth (Gleason) Livermore. His English ancestor, John Livermore, who emigrated from Ipswich, England, to the United States in 1634, settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, and was believed to be the progenitor for the Livermore family members in the United States. Livermore attended both public and private elementary schools at Cambridgeport. He pursued college-prep courses in addition to the normal elementary school courses. One of his private school classmates was the poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Others at his school included Richard H. Dana and Margaret Fuller. He began to purchase books from Boston sales in his spare time.