Henry S. Spalding
American Catholic priest and author (1865–1934)
Henry Stanislaus Spalding, S.J. (1865–1934) was the author of several books about medical ethics but was best known for his series of adventure books for boys. His stories incorporated elements of the Catholic faith as well as history and outdoor adventure.
Early life
Henry Stanislaus Spalding was born on January 10, 1865, in Bardstown, Kentucky. The Spalding family was staunchly Catholic, having been among the early English settlers of the colony of Maryland, and with other families had settled in the Bardstown/Rolling Fork area, which later grew into the first Catholic diocese west of the Appalachians.
Among the descendants of these original Spalding settlers were the Most Reverend Martin John Spalding, archbishop of Baltimore from 1864 to 1872, and John Lancaster Spalding, who was bishop of Peoria from 1877 to 1908. Though not as illustrious as these two, among Henry's siblings were a Dominican priest and four Dominican nuns.
Jesuit priest and educator
Spalding entered the Jesuit novitiate at Florissant, Missouri, on August 7, 1884, and spent five years teaching at Marquette College (now Marquette University) from 1888 to 1893 before completing his studies for the priesthood at St. Louis University and Woodstock College. Here he was ordained in 1899 by Cardinal James Gibbons. He later returned to Marquette, where he held the post of Prefect of Studies and Discipline from 1903 to 1908.
“Henry S. Spalding” enters the record as american Catholic priest and author (1865–1934). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Henry, Spalding and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 25, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q22338529. VIAF identifies the subject as 36536170. The Library of Congress control number is no98075476. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1865, 1934, 1864 and 1872.
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This entry incorporates text from “Henry S. Spalding” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.