A progressive social reformer and New Thought pioneer, Wallace D. Wattles was born in 1860 in the United States. He popularized creative-thought principles in his groundbreaking classics "The Science of Getting Rich," "The Science of Being Great," and "The Science of Being Well," An inspiration to on future generations of success writers, he died in 1911. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1885, Robert Collier distilled New Thought, metaphysical, and success principles into a popular and influential pamphlet series, collected into a single volume as "The Secret of the Ages" in 1926, and later revised by Collier in an expanded edition in 1948. He died in 1950. Born in 1866, Charles F. Haanel achieved success as both a businessman and an author, rising to top positions at numerous corporations in his native St. Louis. Often called the "Father of Personal Development," Haanel was among the earliest writers to popularize the "Law of Attraction." He published "The Master Key System" as a correspondence course in 1912 and collected his lessons into a single volume in 1917. He died in 1949.
