The New Student's Reference Work/George, Henry

HENRY GEORGE

George, Henry, American writer on social and economic subjects, was born at Philadelphia, Sept. 2, 1839, and died at New York, Oct. 29, 1897. In early youth he was apprenticed on a sailing vessel, and went to California, and there applied himself to journalism, founding the San Francisco Post. In the west he zealously addressed himself to the discussion of public affairs, setting forth his views on land reform in a work entitled Our Land and Land Policy. In 1879 appeared his famous work, Progress and Poverty, which created widespread and intelligent interest. He returned to the east in 1880 and published a brochure on The Irish Land-Question, visited Great Britain, and lectured there and in the United States, discussing the land-question and the economic problems of the time. In 1886 he was a candidate for the mayoralty of New York on the United Labor party's ticket, but was defeated. He founded The Standard, which he edited, and also wrote Social Problems, The Land-Question and Protection and Free Trade. To further his theories, he organized single-tax clubs over the country and addressed them on the special topics in which he was zealously interested.