Abner Doubleday | |
|---|---|
 Doubleday, c. 1855-65 | |
| Born | June 26, 1819 Ballston Spa, New York, US |
| Died | January 26, 1893 (aged 73) Mendham, New Jersey, US |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States Union |
| Service | United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1842–1873 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | I Corps 35th U.S. Infantry 24th U.S. Infantry |
| Battles / wars | Mexican–American War Third Seminole War American Civil War American Indian Wars |
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| Theosophy |
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Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893)[1] was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his relief by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade caused lasting enmity between the two men. In San Francisco, after the war, he obtained a patent on the cable car railway that still runs there. In his final years in New Jersey, he was a prominent member and later president of the Theosophical Society.
In 1908, 15 years after his death, the Mills Commission declared that Doubleday had invented the game of baseball, although Doubleday never made such a claim. This claim has been thoroughly debunked by baseball historians.[2][3]
- ^ Abner Doubleday at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Kirsch, pp. xiii–xiv.
- ^ "The Doubleday myth is Cooperstown's gain: Pastoral village has become the heart of baseball folklore". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on September 26, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2012.