Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

---

Leland, Charles Godfrey 1824-

Author; born in Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 15, 1824; graduated at Princeton in 1845; took advanced courses at the universities of Heidelberg, Munich, and Paris; and, returning to the United States, was admitted to the bar, and practised in Philadelphia till 1853. He then entered journalism, and was at different times an editor on the New York Times; Philadelphia Evening bulletin; Vanity fair; Philadelphia Press; Knickerbocker magazine; and Continental magazine. During 1869-80 he lived in London. Returning to the United States, he was the first to establish industrial education, based on the minor arts, as a branch of public school teaching. Later his system spread to England, Austria-Hungary, and other countries. He discovered the “Shelta” language, which was spoken by the Celtic tinkers, and was the famous lost language of the Irish bards, and his discovery was verified by Kuno Meyer, from manuscripts 1,000 years old. His publications include Hans Breitnann's ballads; France, Alsace, and Lorraine; Life of Abraham Lincoln; Industrial work in schools (United States Bureau of Education); One hundred profitable Arts; Etruscan-Roman remains; Algonquian legends; and many other works.