Quote: "Horace Greeley is 'a self-made man who worships his Creator'" (1868)
ADSGarson O'Toole
adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Tue Jun 10 19:54:13 UTC 2014
There is a family of jokes that follow two basic templates:
He is a self-made man, and he worships his creator.
He is a self-made man, and he adores his maker.
I have posted an analysis with citations starting in March 1868.
Current evidence suggests the jibe was first used by Henry Clapp who
was criticizing Horace Greeley.
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/06/10/self-made/
The saying is listed in several of the top quotation/anecdote
references. The Yale Book of Quotations had the best citations with
dates of 1878 and 1882. Other major references have later citations of
no citations.
Earlier evidence would be welcomed.
Thanks,
Garson
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