Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
Francis Pharcellus Church (February 22, 1839 – April 11, 1906) was an American publisher and editor. Born in Rochester, New York, he graduated from Columbia University and embarked on a career in journalism. With his brother, William Conant Church, Francis founded and edited several periodicals: The Army and Navy Journal, The Galaxy, and the Internal Revenue Record and Customs Journal. He was a war correspondent for The New York Times during the American Civil War. He worked at The New York Sun in the early 1860s and again from 1874 till his death, writing thousands of editorials.
In 1897, Church wrote the editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". Produced in response to a girl's letter asking whether Santa Claus was real, the widely republished editorial has become one of the most famous ever written. He died in New York City and is buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
1906Apr, 11
Francis Pharcellus Church
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Events on 1906
- 8Apr
Alzheimer's disease
Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, dies. - 7Jun
RMS Lusitania
Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania is launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland. - 18Sep
Tsunami
A typhoon with tsunami kills an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong. - 20Sep
RMS Mauretania (1906)
Cunard Line's RMS Mauretania is launched at the Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. - 9Nov
Panama Canal
Theodore Roosevelt is the first sitting President of the United States to make an official trip outside the country. He did so to inspect progress on the Panama Canal.