Prof. Bush,

Wanted to add brief note:

Prof. David Blight of Yale, a speculative historian, has been speaking
about his long-long anticipated and longer delayed biography of Frederick
Douglass. Set for pub by Simon & Schuster this October.

During his talks, a couple I've attended to see how much nonsense he is
shoveling, he's mentioned that he thinks, rather speculates, that Douglass
may have been most traveled in total miles logged of anyone of the 1800s.
In mentioning this he's mentioned Twain.

That Blight knows nobody has calculated, or tried to, Douglass' log.
Anecdotally he says it could be Douglass but it is more likely Twain
because he traveled to Asia. (Blight doesn't mention Twain travels to
Australia.)

Briefly, w/ loose outline:

FD escapes slavery Sept. 1838 from Baltimore. In fall of 1841 is when he's
recruited as an orator with Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society.
Travels to UK in late 1845 there until mid 1847ish.
Travels to Canada & then England in wake of John Brown's failed raid. Comes
back to US in early / mid summer 1860.
Departs Boston in Sept. 1886 for Grand Tour of 1886 - 1887.
Goes to UK, Paris, south France, Egypt, Greece, Italy, back to Paris. Back
to US in mid 1887.
Appointed minister to Haiti by Harrison in 1889. Goes back and forth from
DC a couple of times. Ends service in 1891.
Goes to Chicago Exposition in 1893.
Spoke throughout Eastern seaboard, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, went South to
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida on different occasions.

It would be an interesting project surely added by today's GIS programs and
the like.

I don't know much about Twain other than his time as a journalist in
Washington City and return visits.

Respectfully,
John

-- 
John Muller
202.236.3413
Capital Community News l Greater Greater Washington l Washington Syndicate

*Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C: The Lion of Anacostia
<http://www.amazon.com/Frederick-Douglass-Washington-D-c-Anacostia/dp/1609495772/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=H42HP4SBZ8OA&coliid=I34OMAR1SV8L9G>*
[The
History Press, 2012]  Winner of 2013 DC READS
Mark Twain in Washington, D.C.: The Adventures of a Capital Correspondent
<http://amzn.to/19PzIFd> [The History Press, 2013]


On Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 5:23 PM, Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Folks;  I'm being asked whether any scholar has totaled up the
> (approximate=
> ) number of miles that MT covered in his lifetime? Mississippi, east-west
> t=
> ravels in America, the 29 crossings of the Atlantic, the round-the-world
> tr=
> ip?
>
>
> Is there any such total -- or even guesstimate -- by an intrepid scholar
> ou=
> t there??
>
>
> -hb
>
>
> Dr. Hal Bush
>
> Dept. of English
>
> Saint Louis University
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 314-977-3616
>
> http://halbush.com
>
> author website:  halbush.com
>