Daniel Alexander Payne Murray facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniel Alexander Payne Murray
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | March 3, 1852 |
| Died | December 31, 1925 (aged 73) Washington, DC, US
|
| Occupation | Assistant librarian at the Library of Congress |
| Years active | 1871-1922 |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Evans Murray |
| Relatives |
|
Daniel Alexander Payne Murray (1852–1925) was an American expert on books, an author, and a historian. He also worked as an assistant librarian at the Library of Congress. He was known for collecting and organizing books and writings by African American authors.
Who Was Daniel Murray?
Daniel Murray was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 3, 1852. When he was nine years old, in 1861, he started working. He helped at the United States Senate Restaurant. His brother managed the restaurant and was also a caterer.
In 1871, when Daniel was eighteen, he joined the Library of Congress. He was one of the first Black Americans to work there. In 1874, he became a personal assistant. He worked for the main Librarian of Congress, Ainsworth Rand Spofford.
By 1881, Daniel Murray became an assistant librarian. He held this important job for 41 years. For a short time in 1897, he led the periodical division. He returned to his assistant librarian role after a short time. On April 2, 1879, Daniel Murray married Anna Jane Evans. She was an educator. They had seven children together, and five lived to be adults. The couple became very important in the social life of Washington, D.C..
Collecting African American Writings
Daniel Murray started collecting books and pamphlets. These were written by African American authors. He began this project because Herbert Putnam asked him to. Putnam was the new Librarian of Congress.
This collection of works by "Negro Authors" was special. It was meant for The Exhibit of American Negroes. This exhibit was part of the 1900 Paris Exposition. In 1900, Murray published a list of the books he had found. He asked people to donate more items to the list. After a few months, his list grew to 1,100 titles.
The Library of Congress's "Colored Authors' Collection" started because of his hard work. Today, it is called the "Daniel A. P. Murray Pamphlet Collection." It has works from 1821 onwards. Famous authors like Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington are in it. Other authors include Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Alexander Crummell. Murray wanted to make his collection even bigger. He hoped to create an encyclopedia of African-American achievements. Sadly, this big project never got enough support to happen.
The smaller pamphlet he made for the Paris Exposition was very important. It was called "Preliminary List of Books and Pamphlets by Negro Authors: For Paris Exposition and Library of Congress." This pamphlet became the Library of Congress's first list of African American literature.
His Work in African American Affairs
Daniel Murray was known as an expert on African-American issues. He was the first African-American member of the Washington Board of Trade. He also spoke to the House of Representatives. He talked about Jim Crow laws and how African-Americans moved from farms to cities.
He was chosen twice to be a delegate for the Republican National Convention. He was also a member of many other groups and organizations.
Murray was also a writer. He often wrote for African American journals, especially The Voice of the Negro. He was also well-known for his writings on African American history. This included his huge, but unfinished, book called Historical and Biographical Encyclopedia of the Colored Race. When Daniel Murray passed away on March 31, 1925, his personal library of African American works was given to the Library of Congress.
