Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) greatly influenced John Burroughs. Burroughs first read Emerson's works in 1856 when Burroughs was a 19-year-old preparatory school student. A few years later, Burroughs' first significant essay was mistakenly attributed to Emerson. Other writers knew and shaped the budding naturalist, but Emerson remained his spiritual father. This photo shows the aged Burroughs visiting Emerson's home in Concord, Massachusetts.
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