John O’Kane Murray

Physician, historian, b. in County Antrim, Ireland, 12 Dec., 1847; d. at Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 30 July, 1885. He emigrated to New York with his parents in 1856, and was sent to St. John’s College, Fordham, to make his studies. After finishing these he took the medical course at the University of the City of New York and practised as a physician in Brooklyn until 1880. The last five years of his life were spent in a vain effort to ward off the ravages of tuberculosis to which he fell a victim. He was a constant contributor to the Catholic Press and periodicals, and compiled a number of books, the most notable of which were: a “Popular History of the Cathoic Church in the United States” (1876); “Poets and Poetry of Ireland” (1877); “Catholic Heroes and Heroines” (1878); “Little Lives of Great Saints” (1879); “Catholic Pioneers of America” (1881); “Lessons in English Literature” (1883). He also revised Kearney’s “General History” and brought it down to date and had begun to do the same to Lingard’s “England”. What he wrote was very widely read and always exerted a good influence.