Horatio Alger, Jr. (January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was a prolific 19th-century Americanauthor, most famous for his novels following the adventures of bootblacks, newsboys, peddlers,buskers, and other impoverished children in their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort. His novels were hugely popular in their day.