'''Horatio Alger Jr.''' (1832 - 1899) was born on Friday the 13th of January, 1832 in Chelsea, [[Massachusetts]], the oldest of five children. He was the [[author]] of over 100 books for boys in which the heroes rose from rags to riches through virtue and hard work. His mother, Olive Alger, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. His father, Horatio Alger Sr. was a Unitarian Minister.
In 1848, at 16, Alger was accepted to [[Harvard University ]] with financial assistance from his father’s cousin Cyrus Alger. Studying under such famous teachers as [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]], he started to show his writing skills with poetry and academic essays on topics from chivalry to [[Miguel de Cervantes]], earning the title Class Poet and winning many awards and prizes. <ref>[http://www.thehoratioalgersociety.org/]The Horatio Alger Society</ref>
== What is a “Horatio Alger story”? ==
A “Horatio Alger story” are ones of redemption, and have deep roots in our religious history. The two most well-known stories in the Bible are stories of redemption. In Hebrew scripture, we are told that for years the Israelites suffered slavery in [[Egypt ]] under Pharaoh. Then Moses led his people to freedom, to a ''new covenant'' with [[God]], and to the Promised Land. Something good came out of something bad. In Christian Scripture, we are told the story about [[Jesus ]] suffering and dying on the crossCross, but then rising again after three days, saving all humanity from punishment from sin. Again, something good came out of something bad.
The [[Puritans ]] who came to America compared themselves to the Israelites, and told a story of [[redemption]] about themselves. They were persecuted in Europe and suffered through living in the Massachusetts’ wilderness before creating a new society, a city on a hill to be an example to the world. Other stories of redemption, less religious and more secular, are a part of American history too.
The story that [[Benjamin Franklin]] tells of himself in his Autobiography is a story of redemption - - a story about of a poor, dirty 17-year-old boy becoming a prosperous citizen, one who helped found the [[United States of America]], and guide it through its early years.
== Bibliography ==
* [[Abraham Lincoln]]: the Backwoods Boy; or, How A Young Rail-Splitter Became President (1883)* Adrift in [[New York]]; or, Tom and Florence Braving the World (1904)
* Adrift in the City; or, Oliver Conrad's Plucky Fight (1902)
* Andy Grant's Pluck (1902)