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{{Infobox person

{{Infobox person

| name=Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas​<br>​

| name=Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas​<br>​

(The girl behind the 1897 "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in ''The New York Sun''; later a New York City educator for forty-seven years)​

(The girl behind the 1897 "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in ''The New York Sun''; later a New York City educator of forty-seven years)​

| nationality=[[Ireland|Irish]]-[[United States|American]]​​

| nationality=[[Ireland|Irish]]-[[United States|American]]​​

| birth_date=July 20, 1889

| birth_date=July 20, 1889

Philip F.  and Laura L. Plume O'Hanlon}}

Philip F.  and Laura L. Plume O'Hanlon}}

​​

​​

'''Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas''', known as '''Virginia O'Hanlon''', was the eight-year-old girl that wrote in 1897 to ''The New York Sun'' asking if [[Santa Clause ]]is real. The editorial reply to the letter was written by general editor Francis Pharcellus Church (1839-1906) .<ref name=findagrave/>

'''Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas''', known as '''Virginia O'Hanlon''', was the eight-year-old girl that wrote in 1897 to ''The New York Sun'' asking if [[Santa Clause ]]is real. The editorial reply to the letter was written by general editor Francis Pharcellus Church (1839-1906) and is arguably the most famous editorial in American hisotry.<ref name=findagrave/>

Virginia wrote in the letter that her father, Dr. Philip F. O'Hanlon (1863-1937), a coroner's assistant, said that if she could see the requested reply in print, then she could believe of the existence of Santa. Hence, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" has long since become a classic story of the  season.  [[Actor]] Charles Bronson (1921-2003) played Church in a 1991 [[television]] film about the famous letter. In 1974, ABC aired an animated television special about Virginia.

Virginia wrote in the letter that her father, Dr. Philip F. O'Hanlon (1863-1937), a coroner's assistant, said that if she could see the requested reply in print, then she could believe of the existence of Santa. Hence, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" has long since become a classic story of the  season.  [[Actor]] Charles Bronson (1921-2003) played Church in a 1991 [[television]] film about the famous letter. In 1974, ABC aired an animated television special about Virginia.

<blockquote>

<blockquote>

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.<br>

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.<br>

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. …<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus/|title="Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause"|publisher=Newseum|date=September 21, 1887|accessdate=May 13, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.… <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newseum.org/exhibits/online/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus/|title="Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause"|publisher=Newseum|date=September 21, 1887|accessdate=May 13, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

O'Hanlon lived in the [[Manhattan]] borough at 115 West 95th Street at the time the letter was written. As an adult, she became a classroom teacher and principal for a total of forty-seven years in the public schools of New York City. She held a doctorate from [[Fordham University]]. Her 1913 marriage to Edwin Malcolm Douglas (1887-1939), ended quickly in divorce. The couple had a daughter, Laura Virginia Douglas Temple (1914-1998). T<ref name=fiindagrave>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10184308/virginia-o_hanlon|title=Virginia OI'Hanlon|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 13, 2020}}</ref>

O'Hanlon lived in the [[Manhattan]] borough at 115 West 95th Street at the time the letter was written. As an adult, she became a classroom teacher and principal for a total of forty-seven years in the public schools of New York City. She held a doctorate from [[Fordham University]]. Her 1913 marriage to Edwin Malcolm Douglas (1887-1939), ended quickly in divorce. The couple had a daughter, Laura Virginia Douglas Temple (1914-1998). T<ref name=fiindagrave>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10184308/virginia-o_hanlon|title=Virginia OI'Hanlon|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 13, 2020}}</ref>

O'Hanlon died at the age of eighty-one in a nursing home in Valatie in Columbia County, [[New York]]. She is interred at Chatham Center Rural Cemetery in North Chatham in Columbia County. The famous  letter remains in the possession of O'Hanlon's heirs.<ref name=findagrave/>

O'Hanlon died at the age of eighty-one in a nursing home in Valatie in Columbia County, [[New York]]. She is interred at Chatham Center Rural Cemetery in North Chatham in Columbia County. The famous  letter remains in the possession of O'Hanlon's heirs.<ref name=findagrave/>

==References==

==References==

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{{DEFAULT:O'Hanlon, Virginia]]

{{DEFAULT:O'Hanlon, Virginia}}

[[Category:New York City]]

[[Category:New York City]]

[[Category:Christmas]]

[[Category:Christmas]]

[[Category:Educators]]

[[Category:Educators]]