Peter Force
![Peter Force in 1858<br><small>Photograph by [[Mathew Brady]]</small>](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Peter_Force_by_Mathew_Brady_c1858%2C_detail.jpg)
Peter Force (November 26, 1790 – January 23, 1868) was an American politician, newspaper editor, printer,
archivist, and early American historian. He was twice elected the twelfth
Mayor of Washington D.C. During his lifetime he amassed an invaluable and vast collection of books, manuscripts, original maps and other archival material from statesmen, and American and British military officers of the
American Revolution. Force's collection is considered to be among the most extensive. Force served in the Washington militia as a lieutenant during the
War of 1812. Politically, he was a member of the
Whig Party, and supporter of
John Quincy Adams. He is mostly noted for editing and publishing a massive collection of historical documents, books and maps in several volumes involving the American colonies and the American Revolution which was ultimately purchased by the
Library of Congress for a large sum. Force founded a political journal and other publications and was president of a premier national science society, and the Typographical Society which was largely charged with the task of communicating political affairs to the general public. Force served on the committee that approved the Geographical Department for the
Library of Congress. During the international political unrest caused by the
American Civil War, Force was sent to Europe by the
Lincoln Administration to stabilize diplomatic relations with France and England.
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