Antedating of "Self-Made Man"

[Fred Shapiro]

self-made man (OED 1832)

1817 _Daily National Intelligencer_ (Washington, D.C.) 17 Feb. (19th Century
U.S. Newspapers)  Men of this description were more frequently found in the
lower and middle walks of life, (I mean as to property) than among the more
wealthy part of the community; that these men, who might be styled self-made
men, were generally more acquainted with the views, the wishes, and desires of
the great mass of the people, than those who had been dandled in the lap of
fortune.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
   Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press
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