John Lawson Stoddard (April 24, 1850 – June 5, 1931) was an American lecturer, author and photographer."John Lawson Stoddard." Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale In Context: Biography, Accessed 23 May 2022. He was a pioneer in the use of the stereopticon or magic lantern, adding photographs to his popular lectures about his travels around the world. Because he published books related to his travels, he is credited with developing the genre of travelogues.Manning MJ, McCutcheon C. "Education in the School of Dreams: Travelogues and Early Nonfiction Film." Journal of American Culture. 2014; 37(2):225–226. via EBSCO, accessed May 23, 2022. Burton Holmes, hired by Stoddard as his junior associate; coined the term, “travelogues." 3

In 1935, Daniel Crane Taylor wrote, "Stoddard's rise to fame was spectacular and unprecedented in the annals of American entertainers. No American lecturer, musician, or actor has ever won so large a following in so short a time. From his second season, almost every lecture was sold out…He filled Daly's Theatre, one of the largest in New York, fifty times a season for ten years. …This would mean that Stoddard alone drew approximately one hundred thousand persons in New York each year."

Early life Stoddard was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to a wealthy family.Garfinkle, Adam M. “On the Origin, Meaning, Use and Abuse of a Phrase.” Middle Eastern Studies 27, no. 4 (1991): 539–550. . He was the son of Sarah Lothrop and Lewis Tappan Stoddard.Obituary Record of the Alumni, Williams College, 1932, p. 5Catholic Authors: Contemporary Biographical Sketches, 1930–1952, Matthew Hoehn, St Mary's Abbey, 1957, p. 711

He was educated at private schools in Boston. He attended Williams College, graduating with an A.B. in 1871. At Williams, he was a member of the fraternity Delta Psi (aka St. Anthony Hall).Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Ps i. New York: Fraternity of Delta Psi, 1889 via Google Books He studied theology at Yale Divinity School for two years, but left before he graduated.

Career During the 1873–1874 academic year, Stoddard taught the classics at Boston Latin School. Between 1874 and 1876, Stoddard began traveling around the world, mostly to Constantinople, Egypt, Greece, and Palestine. After two years of traveling, he returned to teaching.

In 1879, Stoddard turned his travel experiences into a series of popular lectures delivered throughout North America. He pioneered the used of the stereopticon, also known as the magic lantern, which gave his lectures the "gimmick" of a visual component—the black and white photographs Stoddard took on his travels. His lectures were so popular that he soon became a household name. Stoddard also continued to travel and gather new content for his programs, going to as he said, "nearly every part of the habitable globe." He would return to the United States in the winter, providing lectures in major cities on cities, life, and scenery of the Italian Lakes, Milan, Paris, the Orient, Rome, and even the United States. The demand for his lectures was so high that in New York City alone, he would give fifty sold-out presentations each season.

Stoddard began publishing books, including Red-Letter Days Abroad in 1884, Glimpses of the World in 1892, and Portfolio of Photographs which was issued in sixteen weekly installments starting in 1894 In 1897, he was invited to lecture before the U.S. Congress. However, there was not enough room in chambers, so he scheduled a private lecture for the representatives and their wives at the Columbia Theatre. As one writer noted, "The Theatre filled to capacity."

In April 1897, Stoddard retired from the lecture circuit a multi-millionaire at the age of 47. His lectures were published in book form as John L. Stoddard's Lectures with ten volumes from 1897 to 1898, and five supplements in 1901.American Authors and Books: 1640 to Present Day Third Revised Edition. W.J. Burke and Will D. Howe, ed. Crown Publishers, Inc., New York. The books include many photographs taken by Stoddard. In 1910, he selected the content for The Stoddard Library; A Thousand Hours of Entertainment with the World's Great Writers (12 volumes), with an accompanying handbook published in 1915.

During World War I, then ex-pat Stoddard's sympathies lay with the Central Powers, leading to his writing propaganda pamphlets which were published by the German-American Defense Committee in Germany and the United States. In 1914, he opened An American to Americans: John L. Stoddard Noted Author-Traveler Tells the Truth about Germany and the War in Europe with, "Dear Friends Across the Sea: I fear you have been misinformed about the present war. News must have reached you almost entirely from French and English sources. How incorrect news can be I know from personal experience." He goes on to explain that "every achievement of the Germans or Austrians was ignored or minimized." He also maintains that the war was not started by Emperor William and Germany's military, but by the Russians. He proclaims, "It is a people's war.… They are fighting for their very existence, threatened and surrounded by a world of foes."

In 1922, after his conversion to Catholicism, he became a realist in religion, publishing Rebuilding a Lost Faith, by an American Agnostic, a famous work of apologetics. Thereafter, he devoted his time to religious study and writing.

Stoddard was a proponent of the restoration of the Jews to Israel. In Volume 2 of his Lectures, he told the Jews, “You are a people without a country; there is a country without a people. Be united. Fulfill the dreams of your old poets and patriarchs. Go back, go back to the land of Abraham.”Stoddard, John L. (1897). Lectures, Vol. 2: Constantinople. Jerusalem. Egypt. Boston: Balch Brothers Co., p. 113. In 1891, Stoddard is also believed to be the first person to refer to the Jews as "a country without a nation," a phrase that would later become popular with Zionists in Europe. Stoddard's "Palestine lecture was very popular, delivered by a very popular man… [whose] career was at a zenith."

Publications

Books

Red Letter Days Abroad (1884) Scenic America (1890) Glimpses of the world; a Portfolio of Photographs.(1892) Portfolio of photographs: of Famous Scenes, Cities, and Paintings (1893)Stoddard, John L. Portfolio of Photographs: of Famous Scenes, Cities, And Paintings. Chicago: Educational Pub. Co., 1893. via HathiTrust. Napoléon: from Corsica to St. Helena (1894) A Trip Around the World with John L. Stoddard: a Collection of Photo-Engravings (1894)Stoddard JL (John L 1850–1931. A trip around the world with John L. Stoddard : a collection of photo engravings of famous scenes, cities, and paintings of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America. January 1894. via EBSCO, Accessed May 24, 2022. Portfolio of Photographs of Our Country and Our Neighbors (1894)Stoddard, John L. Portfolio of Photographs of Our Country And Our Neighbors. Chicago: Werner Co, 1894. via HathiTrust Portfolio of Photographs - Photographic View of the Entire World of Nature and Art (1894) Portfolio Colonial... des Possessions et Dépendances Françaises.(1895)Stoddard JL (1850–1831). A du texte. [Portfolio colonial... des possessions et dépendances françaises. Phot. rassemblées par John L. Stoddard. Paris, Werner Company de Chicago, 1895. 1 vol. impr. de 192 p. et autant de phot]. January 1895. via EBSCO. Accessed May 24, 2022. Scenic America, the Beauties of the Western Hemisphere (1897)Stoddard, John L. Scenic America: the Beauties of the Western Hemisphere. Chicago: The Werner Company, 189?. via The HathiTrust. Athens-Venice: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twenty-one Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. Athens--Venice. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust. China: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twenty-two Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. China. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust Egypt: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and nineteen Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. Egypt. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust India: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twelve Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. (John Lawson), 1850–1931. India. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust Japan: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and thirty-eight Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. Japan. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Co., 1897. via HathiTrust. Jerusalem: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twenty-one Reproductions of Photographs (1897) Norway: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twenty-eight Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. Norway. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Co., 1897. via HathiTrust. Switzerland: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and twenty-one Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. Switzerland. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust The Passion Play: Illustrated and Embellished with one-hundred and nineteen Reproductions of Photographs (1897)Stoddard, John L. The Passion Play. Chicago: Belford, Middlebrook & Company, 1897. via HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 1 Norway, Switzerland, Athens, Venice (1897).Stoddard, John Lawson. J ohn L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 1. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 2 Constantinople, Jerusalem, Egypt(1897).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 2. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 3 Japan I, Japan II, China (1897).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 3. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 4 India I, India II, The Passion Play (1897).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 4. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 5 Paris, La Belle France, Spain (1897).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 5. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 6 Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Moscow (1898).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 6. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 7 The Rhine, Belgium, Holland, Mexico (1898).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 7. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 8 Florence, Naples, Rome (1898).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 8. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 9 Scotland, England, London (1898).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 9. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures, v. 10 Southern California, Grand Cañon of the Colorado River, Yellowstone National Park (1898).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. vol. 10. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. From the Atlantic to the Pacific (1899) Famous Parks and Buildings of America (1899) John L. Stoddard Lectures Supplementary volumes: no. 1 / v. 11: Ireland I, Ireland II. Denmark. Sweden (1901).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. Supplement no. 1/vol. 10. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures Supplementary volumes: no. 2 / v. 12: Canada I. Canada II, Malta. Gibraltar (1901).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. Supplement no. 2/ vol. 12. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust. John L. Stoddard Lectures Supplementary volumes: no. 3 / v. 13: South Tyrol. Around Lake Garda. The Dolomites (1901).Stoddard, John Lawson. John L. Stoddard lectures. Supplement no. 3/vol. 13. Chicago: G.L. Shuman. via. HathiTrust.