PECK, George Washington, author, born in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 4 December, 1817; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 6 June, 1859. His ancestor, Joseph, came from Hingham, Norfolk, England, to Rehoboth in 1641. After spending his boyhood on his father's farm, he was graduated at Brown in 1837, taught in Indiana, and edited " The Daily Sun " and " Republican" in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then studied law in Boston, and was admitted to the bar in 1843. He became musical and dramatic critic for the "Boston Post," and in 1845 issued "The Boston Musical Review." He was subsequently connected with the "New York Courier," the "American Review," "The Literary World," and various other publications, until 1853, when he sailed for Australia. He witnessed in Melbourne the excitement that followed the discovery of gold, and delivered the first Fourth of July address on that continent. On his return he visited Lima and the Chincha islands. He published " Melbourne and the Chincha Islands, with Sketches of Lima and a Voyage Round the World" (New York, 1854). Among his novelties in prose and verse were a series of "Sonnets of the Sidewalk," " Aurifodina, or Adventures in the Gold Region," and " Summer Sketches." At the time of his death he was engaged upon an essay on Shakespeare, part of which was printed in the "Atlantic Monthly."