Although Known principally as a political economist, Henry George began his public career as a journalist. His newspaper experience gave him the opportunity to focus his economic theories, as well as a platform by which to bring them initially to the public's attention. George, even after he had left active journalism, continued to write for newspapers and magazines in order to disseminate his program of social reform.

During the last years of the nineteenth century George ranked as an equal with such diverse thinkers as George Bernard Shaw, Karl Marx, Leo Tolstoy, and Sun Yat-sen. His writings were influential, yet not lasting; his theories were heavily debated, yet not enacted; his political campaigns were strongly supported, yet he was not elected to public office. In spite of these failings, George remains an important character in American political, economic, and journalistic life.

Born in Philadelphia on 2 September 1839, George was...