LOGAN, James, American colonial states man and author: b. Lurgan, Ireland, 20 Oct. 1674; d. Stenton, near Philadelphia, Pa., 31 Oct. 1751. By his own efforts he acquired a knowledge of the chief ancient and modern languages, and in 1699, being then established in trade in Bristol, England, accepted an invi tation from William Penn to accompany him to America in the capacity of secretary. In 1701, upon the return of Penn to England, he was appointed provincial secretary, and subse quently filled the offices of commissioner of property, chief justice and president of the council, discharging in. the last capacity the duties of governor of the province for two years after the demise of Governor Gordon in 1736. The latter years of his life were passed at his country-seat called Stenton, in the pur suit of literature and science. His chief work, 'Experimenta et Meletemata de Plantarum Generations' (Leyden 1739; London, trans lated from the Latin by Fothergill, 1747), an expansion of a paper on the growth of maize published in the 'Philosophical Transactions' for 1735, was considered an important contribu tion to the science of botany. He was the au
thor of two other Latin treatises of a scientific character published in Holland, of an English translation of Cicero's 'De Senectute,' pub lished in 1744 by Benjamin Franklin, and of Cato's 'Distichs,' the latter in verse; and he left a variety of papers on ethics and philology. The translation of Cicero was the first original one of a classical author printed in America. His library, numbering about 2,000 volumes, was, in conformity with his desire, presented to the city of Philadelphia, and is deposited in a separate department of the Philadelphia library under the name of the Loganian library. He was one of the founders of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Soci ety of Friends.