John B. L. Soule
John Babsone Lane Soule (1815–1891) was an American publisher, minister, poet and professor.[1]
Originally from Maine, he went to Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and graduated in 1840 from Bowdoin College in Maine.[1]
Soule is credited with using the phrase "Go West, young man, go West" in an 1851 Terre Haute Express editorial, 14 years before a similar phrase was famously used by Horace Greeley in reference to western expansion in North America. The phrase is often attributed to Greeley.[2] Greeley even reportedly tried to give Soule credit, but some journalists insisted Greeley had expressed those sentiments even earlier and Greeley had been the one to popularize the expression.[3] A research project from the History Department at Indiana University in 2004 concluded the Soule attribution on came out in 1890 and was based on a satirical account.[4]
Soule taught at Vigo Collegiate Institute[5] and Blackburn University in Illinois.[1] Soule published a paper in Charleston, Illinois before returning to Terre Haute and buying the Terre Haute Express from David S. Donaldson.[5]
His son moved to Las Vegas and then New Mexico. His father communicated his support of his western journey.[6]
He received honorary degrees of Master of Arts, Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Divinity from various schools.[1] Baird died May 28, 1887.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d The Poets of Maine 183 George Bancroft Griffith (ed.), Portland, Maine: Elwell, Pickard & Co., 1888
- ^ Greeley only wished he had said it February 13, 1994 New York Times
- ^ Hendrickson, Robert (1 July 2013). God Bless America: The Origins of Over 1,500 Patriotic Words and Phrases. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781628735987 – via Google Books.
- ^ Volume 100, Issue 3, September 2004 by Thomas Fuller Indiana Magazine of History, Indiana University History Department
- ^ a b McCormick, Mike (6 February 2018). Terre Haute: Queen City of the Wabash. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738524061 – via Google Books.
- ^ "John B.L. Soule Western Expansion Rare Miscellaneous Historical Artifact". www.universityarchives.com. Archived from the original on 2018-02-07.