- Ellis K. Meacham
Ellis Kirby Meacham (September 5, 1913-August 17, 1998) was an American attorney and judge who wrote three Napoleonic era nautical adventures.
Personal life and career
Meacham was born in
Chattanooga, Tennessee to C.W.K. Meacham, an attorney, and Jean Ellis. He graduated from theUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga with an A.B. in 1935 andVanderbilt University with an LL.B in 1937. He married Jean Austin (a teacher and later dean at theUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga ) on February 12, 1940. He served in theUnited States Navy Reserve 1941-1945, attaining the rank ofcommander .Meacham was an attorney in Chattanooga from 1937 to 1972, when he became a judge in the Chattanooga Municipal Court. A grandson,
Jon Meacham , is the editor ofNewsweek .Novels
Meacham wrote a Napoloeonic nautical trilogy set in India published by
Little, Brown in the United States andHodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom. The hero of the books is Percival Merewether, an officer in theHonourable East India Company ’s private navy, known as the Bombay Marine.
*"The East Indiaman" (1968) Set in 1806 - Merewether commands HEICS "Rapid"
*"On the Company’s Service", (1971) Set in 1806-1807 - Merewether commands HEICS "Rapid" again, and serves asCommodore
*"For King and Company", (1976) Set in 1807-1808 – Merewether commands HEICS "Pitt" as a senior captainAwards
*Founder's Medalist for 1937, Vanderbilt University Law School
*Friends of American Writers Major Award in Fiction ($1,000 prize) in 1969 for "The East Indiaman"References
*Contemporary Authors Online, 2003
*Spears, Judy “Former Judge, Author Ellis K. Meacham Dies”, "Chattanooga Times Free Press ", August 18, 1998External links
*Meacham Writer's Workshop [http://www.chattanoogastate.edu/Meacham/]
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