John Burroughs (April 3, 1837-March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and writer.

Early life

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Burroughs was born on his family's farm in the Catskill Mountains, near Roxbury, New York, the seventh of ten children . to Chauncy and Amy Kelly Burroughs. As a child he would spend many hours on the slopes of Old Clump Mountain, looking off to the east and the higher peaks of the Catskills, especially Slide Mountain, which he would later write about. His classmates at a local school included Jay Gould.

He left school at the age of 17 to become a teacher himself, while he continued his studies at a number of institutions including Cooperstown Seminary, where he first read the works of William Wordsworth and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom would become lifelong influences through their focus on nature and its effect on the spirit.

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