Gibson, John

Gibson, John, English sculptor

Gibson, John, 1790–1866, English sculptor of the classical school. His early promise gained him admirers, and in 1817 he was sent to Rome. There he worked successively in the studios of Canova and Thorvaldsen. He lived chiefly in Rome, although most of his commissions came from England. Gibson, invoking the precedent of the Greeks, endeavored to popularize tinted statues.

Bibliography

See biography by Lady Eastlake (1870), containing his autobiography.

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Gibson, John, American frontiersman

Gibson, John, 1740–1822, American frontiersman, b. Lancaster, Pa. After taking part in the capture (1758) of Fort Duquesne (renamed Fort Pitt) in the French and Indian War, he became a trader with the Native Americans there. He was captured in Pontiac's Rebellion and served in Lord Dunmore's War (see Dunmore, John Murray, 4th earl of). In the American Revolution he was principally useful in dealing with western Native Americans. For a time (1781–82) he was commander at Fort Pitt. Later he was living in Pennsylvania at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion and earned much animosity from his neighbors by siding with the government. He served (1800–1816) as secretary of the Indiana Territory and was of great aid to William Henry Harrison.