"I want to thank you and your brother for Abbott’s series of Histories. I have not education enough to appreciate the profound works of voluminous historians, and if I had, I have no time to read them. But your series of Histories gives me, in brief compass, just that knowledge of past men and events which I need. I have read them with the greatest interest. To them I am indebted for about all the historical knowledge I have."
—Abraham Lincoln

Makers of History is a 19th century biography series by two brothers—Jacob and John S.C. Abbott. Some of these books have been reprinted by Canon Press, A Beka, and Yesterday's Classics. The full series is more than 30 books in length.

This famous series was so well known and widely read that they were staples of virtually every American library from the time they were published, in the mid-nineteenth century, until after the first world war. Both informative and terrifically entertaining, the Abbott brothers had an enormous talent for writing biographies, and selecting those stories and anecdotal episodes from histories that are of most interest to the general reader.

It was not until about 1848 that the brothers embarked on the idea of doing a series of biography aimed at young people. The target audience was age "15 to 25", and the Abbott brothers eventually produced a set of biographies that were critically acclaimed, and widely read. They were originally published as the 'Illustrated History' series, but were republished many times during the next sixty years in various collections, entitled 'Famous Characters of History', 'Famous Queens of History', and others. They were most recently republished in the early 1900’s as the 'Makers of History' series.

The Abbotts had a terrific gift for narrative, and their books all read as if they were high suspense novels. Although the vocabulary level is relatively high, more appropriate for high school or college than elementary schools, the writing style is not difficult, and the stories move along at a fast pace. The Abbott biographies have a delightful combination of action and adventure, along with truly interesting personality portraits, intriguing subplots, and fascinating secondary characters which should be appealing to both young men and young women. The Canon Press reprints have been edited and brought up-to-date for readers twelve and up. Not only are these editions given vintage style paperback covers, but they also include introductions that explain where these men and women fit into the timeline of history.

—Our thanks to Heritage History for much of this description.

An Incomplete List....

1. Cyrus the Great (Jacob Abbott)
2. Darius the Great (Jacob Abbott)
3. Xerxes (Jacob Abbott)
4. Alexander the Great - King of Macedon (Jacob Abbott)
5. Pyrrhus, King of Epirus (Jacob Abbott)
6. Romulus, the Founder of Rome (Jacob Abbott)
7. Hannibal (Jacob Abbott)
8. Julius Caesar (Jacob Abbott)
9. Cleopatra (Jacob Abbott)
10. Nero (Jacob Abbott)
11. King Alfred of England (Jacob Abbott)
12. William the Conqueror (Jacob Abbott)
13. Richard I - Makers of History
14. Richard II - Makers of History
15. Richard III
16. Margaret of Anjou - Makers of History
17. Christopher Columbus
18. Queen Elizabeth I
19. Mary Queen of Scots - Makers of History
20. Charles I - Makers of History
21. History of King Charles II of England
22. Peter the Great
23. Genghis Khan - Makers of History Series
24. Hernando Cortez - Makers of History
25. King Philip
26. Henry the Fourth of France
27. Louis XIV - Makers of History Series
28. Hortense - Makers of History Series
29. Madame Roland
30. Joseph Bonaparte
31. Josephine Empress of the French
32. Marie Antoinette
33. Louis Philippe
34. Peter the Great of Russia

Young Peoples' History of the War with Spain
Romance of Spanish History
Kit Carson
Chevalier de La Salle
History of Prussia
Miles Standish