American political orator, the son of a poor Irishman; born in Philadelphia on the 15th of October 1826; admitted to the bar in 1849, and made many notable political speeches in support of Democracy. He joined the Republican party during the War, his speeches in advocacy of Lincoln’s candidacy being notable, but subsequently returned to the Democrats and nominated General Hancock in 1880, and Cleveland in 1888. He gained the soubriquet of the “silver-tongued orator,” and was very popular on the lecture platform, his best-known efforts being The Stage; Orators and Oratory; and American Politics. His greatest public effort is regarded to have been his address at Baltimore, November 11, 1889, at the opening of the Roman Catholic Lay Congress. He died on the 5th of September 1892.
