Nov

4

Edmund Clarence Stedman was the editor of this history, The New York Stock Exchange, quoted below on this site.

From Grok:

Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) was a prominent American poet, literary critic, and essayist, often dubbed the "Bard of Wall Street" for his successful dual career in literature and finance. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 8, 1833, he was orphaned young after his father's death from tuberculosis and raised by relatives. He briefly attended Yale University (expelled after two years but later honored with a degree) before launching into journalism in the 1850s, working for outlets like the New York Tribune and New York World, including as a Civil War correspondent. He studied law and briefly served as private secretary to U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates.

Connection to the New York Stock Exchange

Stedman's ties to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) spanned over three decades, from 1865 to 1900, where he worked as a banker and stockbroker on Wall Street. This financial role provided stability amid his literary endeavors, allowing him to support his family while pursuing poetry and criticism. After retiring from the Exchange in 1900, he remained deeply involved in its institutional history. In 1905, at age 71, he served as editor of the landmark publication The New York Stock Exchange: Its History, Its Contribution to National Prosperity, and Its Relation to American Finance at the Outset of the Twentieth Century, a comprehensive two-volume work commissioned by the Stock Exchange Historical Company. Co-edited with Alexander N. Easton and others, it chronicled the NYSE's evolution from its founding in 1792 under the Buttonwood Agreement through its role in American economic growth. The book, limited to 3,000 copies (with a rare signed edition of 50 for select members), is a key historical resource on early 20th-century finance.

Literary and Other Achievements

Parallel to his NYSE career, Stedman produced influential works like Poems, Lyrical and Idyllic (1860), Victorian Poets (1875), and massive anthologies such as A Library of American Literature (1888–1890, 11 volumes) and An American Anthology (1900). He also dabbled in science, proposing an early rigid airship design in 1879. Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1904, he died in New York City on January 18, 1908, from heart disease, survived by two sons.


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