Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Launitz, Robert Eberhard

LAUNITZ, Robert Eberhard, sculptor, b. in Riga, Russia, 4 Nov., 1806; d. in New York city, 13 Dec, 1870. His father, a German sculptor, studied under Thorwaldsen, whom he assisted in restoring the Æginetan marbles. The son also studied under Thorwaldsen, and, settling in New York in 1828, became the first instructor of Thomas Crawford. He was made a member of the National academy, and has been called the father of monumental art in America. Among his productions are the Pulaski monument in Savannah, Ga., the Battle monument in Frankfort, Ky., the monument to Gen. George H. Thomas in Troy, N. Y., and other similar works, many of which are in Greenwood cemetery.