Alger, Horatio (1832–1899)

US writer of children's books. He wrote over 100 didactic moral tales in which the heroes rise from poverty to riches through hard work, luck, and good deeds, including the series ‘Ragged Dick’ from 1867 and ‘Tattered Tom’ from 1871.

It is estimated that his books sold more than 20 million copies. A ‘Horatio Alger tale’ has now come to mean any rags-to-riches story, often an implausible one. The Horatio Alger association awards 100 academic scholarships each year to high school seniors who have overcome ‘overwhelming odds’.