Horatio Alger

American  

adjective

1. of or characteristic of the heroes in the novels of Horatio Alger, who begin life in poverty and achieve success and wealth through honesty, hard work, and virtuous behavior.

   the Horatio Alger story of his rise in the business world.

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Alger, Horatio, Jr. Cultural  

1. A nineteenth-century American author known for his many books in which poor boys become rich through their earnest attitudes and hard work.

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A true story of spectacular worldly success achieved by someone who started near the bottom is often called a “Horatio Alger story.”

Etymology

Origin of Horatio Alger

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Curricula used to include stories like those by Horatio Alger about people pulling themselves up from poverty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

“It was extraordinary to watch his inner strength,” Sokol said of his son in the Horatio Alger biography.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 25, 2026

Horatio Alger Association membership itself is worth at least $200,000, according to the organization's meeting minutes in 2007, a sum that those who nominate a new member are responsible for raising in that person's honor.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2023

Last October, in New Orleans, Sokol made a direct reference to a pending Supreme Court case while addressing a group of former Horatio Alger scholarship recipients.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2023

Downtrodden Americans gravitated strongly toward the Horatio Alger protagonist, the lowly bred Everyman who rises from anonymity and hopelessness.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand