Orison Swett Marden (1848-1924) was born in Thornton, New Hampshire, and died in Los Angeles, California. Orphaned at the age of seven, he worked as a hired hand for several different families until his mid-teens, when he worked his way through Colby Academy and New Hampton Institute in New Hampshire. He then began working in the hotel industry to fund his way through Andover Theological Seminary, Boston University, Harvard Medical School, and Boston University Law School, subsequently becoming the owner of several hotels in Massachusetts, Nebraska, Florida, South Dakota, and Illinois. In the early 1890s he turned to writing inspirational, motivational, business-development, and self-help books in line with New Thought philosophy. His first book, Pushing to the Front (1894) was extremely successful, and he went on to author over fifty additional works on related topics, becoming known as a leading philosopher of practical optimism and a pioneer in the field of applied psychology. His books were translated into more than 25 languages and sold in the millions of copies.
In 1897 he founded Success magazine, which is still in publication in modern times. Marden was also editor of the Consolidated Encyclopedic Library (1903, 1906, and 1907), and wrote regular articles for Nautilus, a New Thought magazine. He was president of the League for the Larger Life, a New Thought organization, and of the Aldine Club. In 1905 he married Clara L. Marden (b. Evans) in Manhattan, New York, and they settled on a farm in Glen Cove, New York. He was acquainted with Mary Baker Eddy's student James A. Neal, who reported to Eddy in 1897 that Marden was actively promoting her and Christian Science in the course of his work. Marden's ideas were referenced and quoted in the Christian Science Sentinel several times between 1899 and 1909, and he also published three articles in the Sentinel during that time. In September 1905 Marden wrote a letter to Eddy proposing to feature her in an article in Success, which Eddy declined.
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Orison Swett Marden (1848-1924) was born in Thornton, New Hampshire, and died in Los Angeles, California. Orphaned at the age of seven, he worked as a hired hand for several different families until his mid-teens, when he worked his way through Colby Academy and New Hampton Institute in New Hampshire. He then began working in the hotel industry to fund his way through Andover Theological Seminary, Boston University, Harvard Medical School, and Boston University Law School, subsequently becoming the owner of several hotels in Massachusetts, Nebraska, Florida, South Dakota, and Illinois. In the early 1890s he turned to writing inspirational, motivational, business-development, and self-help books in line with New Thought philosophy. His first book, Pushing to the Front (1894) was extremely successful, and he went on to author over fifty additional works on related topics, becoming known as a leading philosopher of practical optimism and a pioneer in the field of applied psychology. His books were translated into more than 25 languages and sold in the millions of copies.
In 1897 he founded Success magazine, which is still in publication in modern times. Marden was also editor of the Consolidated Encyclopedic Library (1903, 1906, and 1907), and wrote regular articles for Nautilus, a New Thought magazine. He was president of the League for the Larger Life, a New Thought organization, and of the Aldine Club. In 1905 he married Clara L. Marden (b. Evans) in Manhattan, New York, and they settled on a farm in Glen Cove, New York. He was acquainted with Mary Baker Eddy's student James A. Neal, who reported to Eddy in 1897 that Marden was actively promoting her and Christian Science in the course of his work. Marden's ideas were referenced and quoted in the Christian Science Sentinel several times between 1899 and 1909, and he also published three articles in the Sentinel during that time. In September 1905 Marden wrote a letter to Eddy proposing to feature her in an article in Success, which Eddy declined.
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