Norton was born in 1827 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father, Andrews Norton (1786–1853), was a
After … See more

In 1862 Norton, at the age of 35, married 24-year-old Susan Ridley Sedgwick (21 February 1838 – 17 February 1872), daughter of Theodore Sedgwick III and Sara Morgan Ashburner. They had six children together: El… See more

According to Turner (1999), "Probably only someone with Norton’s experiences and scholarly range – who had written about the Mound Builders, roamed India, organized classical archaeology, scoured medieval archives, p… See more

From 1855 to 1874 Norton spent much time in travel and residence on the continent of Europe and in England. During this period, he began friendships with Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, Edward FitzGerald and Leslie Stephen, … See more

In 1881 he helped found the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. During the first years of the twentieth century, Norton spoke out in favor of legalized euthanasia. He lent his name to a movement … See more