THORNDIKE, Israel, merchant, born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1757; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 10 May, 1832. He was educated in the common schools, on 30 October, 1776, was appointed captain of the privateer " Warren " by the government of Massachusetts, and made several captures during the Revolutionary war. When peace was concluded he engaged extensively in commerce with China and the East Indies, and also in manufacturing. His enterprises were all skilfully planned, and he soon became wealthy. He was elected to the Massachusetts convention that ratified the constitution of the United States, and for many years sat in the Massachusetts legislature. He settled in Boston in 1810, and in 1818 purchased for the use of Harvard the library of Professor Christoph Daniel Ebeling, of Hamburg, which consists of 4,000 volumes, and is remarkably rich in works on American history and antiquities.