Henry Thoreau lived and died in Concord, Massachusetts, yet he led a richer life than most world travelers. He was an independent sprit, concerned only with having time to write and meditate. Educated at Concord Academy and Academy and Harvard University, he had constant contact with some of his era's greatest thinkers and writers. Among these was the influential Ralph WaldoEmerson, who encouraged Thoreau's writing and helped to publish his poetry and essays. Emerson offered Thoreau some land by Concord's Walden Pond for use in an experiment in self-sufficient living. Thoreau's journal of the two-year sojourn, begun July 4, 1845, later served as the basis for his masterpiece , Walden. His other great works include the essays "Civil Disobedience", "Life Without Principle"and "Walking." Few of Thoreau's works were published in his lifetime, and he eked out a living working for the Emersons.