[Ads-l] Saying: Many people die at twenty five and aren't buried until they are seventy five

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The saying in the subject line is often attributed to Benjamin
Franklin. Fake History Hunter (@fakehistoryhunt) was skeptical, and
she asked me to investigate. Here is a link to the QI article:

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/11/03/not-buried/

I found no substantive support for the ascription to Franklin.
Searching his oeuvre at franklinpapers.org yields nothing germane.

The phrasing is highly variable, and the two numbers specified
fluctuate; hence, this family of sayings is quite difficult to trace.
The earliest match I located appeared in April 1925 within a St.
Louis, Missouri newspaper report about popular orator G. E. Marchand
who told a large audience that personality was the key to success.
Marchand employed a version of the saying based on the years 25 and
60:

[ref] 1925 April 2, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1500 Persons Hear
Marchand in First of Lecture Series, Quote Page 7, Column 2, St.
Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
“Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until
60,” he said. “Many have big brains but little jobs because they are
walking about in their shroud.”
[End excerpt]

The next earliest cite I found occurred in October 1925 within "The
Montclair Times" of New Jersey which reported on a speech delivered by
playwright and author Gertrude Nelson Andrews who employed an instance
based on the years 50 and 80:

[ref] 1925 October 17, The Montclair Times, State Federation Meets,
Start Page 1, Quote Page 2, Column 4, Montclair, New Jersey.
(Newspapers_com) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
There is no reason why a person shouldn’t be young at eighty, but
there are a whole lot of people who die at fifty and aren’t buried
until they are eighty. We have a right to be useful and creative if we
live to be 100. A man at eighty should be a masterpiece, not something
to be thrown on the dump heap.
[End excerpt]

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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