This Day in History: 1811-02-03

Horace Greeley The famous editor of the New York Tribune and a major political force in the mid-19th century, Horace Greeley is born on this day in 1811. It was Greeley who popularized the phrase “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country,” probably in 1865, but only after he went west himself and wrote about it in his 1860 book: An Overland Journey He was dazzled by ancient redwood trees 90 feet in circumfrence and over 300 feet high. “That they were of very substantial size when David danced before the ark, when Solomon laid the foundations of the Temple, when Theseus ruled in Athens, when Aeneas fled from the burning wreck of vanquished Troy… I have no manner of doubt… I am sure they will be more prized and treasured a thousand years hence from now, should they by extreme care and caution be preserved so long.”