Hobart Chatfield-Taylor

Who was Hobart Chatfield-Taylor?

Hobart C. Chatfield-Taylor was an American writer, novelist, and biographer. He was considered a top authority on Molière.

He was born in Chicago to Henry Hobart Taylor and Adelaide Chatfield Taylor in 1865 as Hobart Taylor, but appended the "Chatfield" to his surname as the stipulation of a large inheritance from his maternal uncle Wayne Chatfield. He graduated from Cornell University in 1886, and in 1890 married Rose Farwell, daughter of former United States Senator Charles B. Farwell. His wife's portrait was painted by the Swiss-born American society painter Adolfo Müller-Ury, three quarter-length in 1893, and half-length drawing on a pair of white gloves in 1894; both are unlocated.

He edited a literary journal called America for a few years, and also served as consul to Spain in Chicago. He published his first novel, With Edge Tools, in 1891. His wife Rose died in 1918, and he married Estelle Barbour Stillman in 1920.

He had three sons, and one daughter, Adelaide Chatfield-Taylor Sohier. Wayne Chatfield-Taylor served as Under Secretary of Commerce and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.