Strangers – Today

Joseph Peace Hazard, February 17, 1807 — January 18, 1892

Joseph Peace Hazard was an American businessman. He was educated in Quaker schools in Pennsylvania before settling in Rhode Island, where he became involved in the operation of his family's textile mill. The mill developed into a successful manufacturing enterprise, though Hazard wrote in his diary that he did not have a talent for business. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the benefits of success, and devoted his later life to travel and the building and development of three properties in Rhode Island, including his "Castle" and a stone house called "Druidsdream". Hazard was a spiritualist, detailing his encounters with the spiritual realm and his belief that spirits wanted to communicate with the living in his diaries, a collection of which are held by the Rhode Island Historical Society. In particular, Hazard believed that his pocket watch served as a conduit of communication for spirits. The Record of Strangers indicates that both Joseph and his brother Isaac visited the Athenaeum multiple times over the years.

Portrait courtesy of Rhode Island College — Source —  Source — Source

Alexander Avinov, March 18, 1786 — September 30, 1854

Alexander Avinov was a Russian naval officer. He studied to be a naval cadet and by the age of 14 was already taking part in naval expeditions. He was sent to England to study in the Royal Navy and was soon serving under Admiral Horatio Nelson. In 1820, Avinov took part in an expedition to circumnavigate the globe, and had reached the rank of captain by 1820. In 1829, he was sent to the United States to study shipbuilding techniques in the country, and was accompanied by shipbuilder and engineer Ivan Amosov. The two are shown visiting the Athenaeum together on this occasion, as well as in 1829. After Avinov returned to Russia, he was appointed commandant of the port of Sevastopol, and later its military governor. In 1852, two years before his death, Avinov was named Admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy.

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Ivan Amosov, November 12, 1800 — June 1, 1878

Ivan Amosov was a Russian shipbuilder and engineer. He graduated from the School of Naval Architecture and in 1829 accompanied Captain Alexander Avinov to the United States to further study the country's shipbuilding techniques. The two are shown visiting the Athenaeum together on this occasion, as well as in 1829. Upon his return to Russia, Amosov worked for two decades at the Okhtinsky Admiralty Shipyard, building some of the most technologically advanced ships of the time. Later, he was appointed ship-building inspector at Kronstadt.

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