Virginia O'Hanlon

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Virginia O'Hanlon (born July 20, 1889 in New York City , † May 13, 1971 in Valatie , New York; full name Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas ) accidentally became known when she was a child of the newspaper New York Sun asked, “ Is there a Santa Claus? "

Life

The episode in her childhood

In 1897, Virginia was talking to her friends about Santa Claus, the American Father Christmas . While she believed in him, the others said there was no Santa Claus at all. She wanted the sown doubts with her father Dr. Philip O'Hanlon cleared up, but his answer was evasive.

The eight-year-old had heard the family turn to the "question and answer" column of the New York Sun newspaper when they had any doubts , a paper her father was very fond of.

"Well then, I'll go ahead and write to the Sun and find out the real truth," Virginia decided. Her father encouraged her in her plan with the words “Go ahead, Virginia. I am sure the Sun will give you the right answer, as it always does. ”The child wrote in her parents' favorite newspaper.

The long-time journalist Francis Pharcellus Church was commissioned to answer this difficult question . He managed an editorial that is one of the most famous publications in the US press. It was reprinted annually by the New York Sun thereafter. After ceasing publication in 1950, other papers adopted the text, which was also translated into other languages.

Your further life

Virginia O'Hanlon graduated from Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts at age 21 . The following year she received a Masters degree from Columbia University . In 1912 she began teaching in the New York school system, where she later rose to become principal. Virginia O'Hanlon later moved from New York to Chatham . In their marriage, she gave birth to a daughter. After 47 years of work, she retired as a teacher.

Throughout her life she received a relentless stream of mail accompanying her Santa Claus letter, and with every response she attached an attractive printed copy of the Church editorial.

Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a Valatie nursing home . She is buried in Chatham in the "Chatham Rural Cemetery".

In the news of her death, the US news magazine " TIME " quoted her comment: I am anonymous from January to November .

Others

Her parents' house in New York has been converted into a school building.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.barricksinsurance.com
  2. ↑ http://www.columbia.edu/~js322/misc/virginia2.html
  3. ↑ http://www.yourhometown.org/page41.html
  4. ↑ https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905103,00.html?iid=chix-sphere
  5. ↑ http://www.nysun.com/article/24556?page_no=2
personal data
SURNAME O'Hanlon, Virginia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Hanlon Douglas, Laura Virginia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American teacher, when she was eight, clarified whether there was a Santa Claus
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1971
Place of death Valatie (New York)