John Silva Meehan | |
|---|---|
 Meehan, 1850s | |
| 4th Librarian of Congress | |
| In office May 28, 1829 – May 24, 1861 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Henry Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | George Watterston |
| Succeeded by | John Gould Stephenson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 6, 1790 New York City, United States |
| Died | April 24, 1863 (aged 73) Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., United States |
| Political party | Jacksonian (1825–1828) |
| Spouse | Margaret Jones Monington |
| Children | 7 |
| Occupation |
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| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | Navy |
| Years of service | 1815 |
| Rank | Midshipman |
| Conflict | |
John Silva Meehan (February 6, 1790 – April 24, 1863) was an American publisher, printer, and newspaper editor who served as the fourth librarian of Congress from 1829 to 1861. Born in New York City, Meehan worked as a printer in his youth. After this, he saw a brief period of service in the United States Navy during the last few months of the War of 1812. Returning without seeing combat, he began work as a publisher in Philadelphia alongside fellow printer Robert Anderson, publishing a Baptist religious journal. After the firm moved to Washington, D.C., in early 1822, Meehan began editing and publishing the Baptist weekly newspaper The Columbian Star. Leaving the Star in late 1825, Meehan nominally purchased the City of Washington Gazette on direction from Andrew Jackson's presidential campaign, renaming the paper the United States' Telegraph and taking an immensely partisan stance. Jackson supporters considered Meehan unable to properly spearhead the press campaign. Control over the paper gradually shifted towards editor and publisher Duff Green, with Meehan officially leaving the paper in October 1826; however, he continued to serve as Green's editorial assistant until 1829.
Following a purge of numerous incumbent officials in the aftermath of Jackson's 1828 election, Meehan was appointed as Librarian of Congress via the spoils system and Green's urging, replacing the staunch anti-Jacksonian George Watterston. Meehan's tenure as Librarian saw the steady growth of the Library of Congress, collaborating with longstanding Joint Committee on the Library chair James Pearce for most of his tenure. A large fire in December 1851 saw the destruction of 35,000 of the library's 55,000 books. Meehan and Pearce oversaw the reconstruction of the library after the disaster, restocking it with substantial purchases of books and rebuilding the main hall. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 prompted Meehan's removal in 1861 in favor of Indiana physician John Gould Stephenson. Largely unbothered by this, he retired gracefully and died suddenly in 1863. Both Stephenson and later historians were generally critical of Meehan's tenure, noting that he mainly deferred to the Joint Committee on library policy, leaving the library's archaic catalog system unchanged, and failing to make any progress in transforming the institution into a true national library.