Arthur Dudley Vinton

Who was Arthur Dudley Vinton?

Arthur Dudley Vinton was an author and lawyer born in Brooklyn, New York. Vinton was the son of Elizabeth and Reverend Dr. Francis Vinton. His mother’s father was Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. His own father, Francis, was a famous pastor affiliated with the Trinity Parish Episcopal church of southern Manhattan.

Arthur Vinton attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute then joined the United States Navy and became a Col. A.D.V. Midshipman before attending college. He graduated from Columbia Law School and started a law firm in 1879 with two wealthy classmates, his cousin Perry Belmont and George Frelinghuysen. The firm of Vinton, Belmont & Frelinghuysen lasted about five years. Belmont was elected to the House of Representatives and Frelinghuysen married into the Ballantine family and soon became president of the Ballantine Brewing company.

When his friend Lloyd Bryce, whom he met at Columbia Law, became the editor of the North American Review in 1889, Vinton began working there and contributing.

Among his novels are:

Looking Further Backward, a derisory sequel to Edward Bellamy's novel Looking Backward.

The Pomfret Mystery