Edward Everett (1794-1865), American statesman and orator, was renowned for his elegant speeches, the most famous of which was his address at Gettysburg, overshadowed by President Lincoln's remarks from the same platform.

On Apr. 11, 1794, Edward Everett was born in Dorchester, Mass. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree with highest honors from Harvard in 1811 and a master of arts in divinity in 1814. Appointed to the newly created chair in Greek at Harvard, he prepared for the post by obtaining a doctor's degree from the University of Göttingen in 1817. His marriage to Charlotte Gray Brooks in 1822 allied him to Boston's social elite.

More interested in politics than in an academic career, Everett entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1824, serving until 1835. A spokesman of the conservative Whig party, he was closely associated with Daniel Webster, the Whig senator from Massachusetts. Everett labored to preserve the Bank...