A Man of Many Faces Ralph Waldo Emerson was a poet who was one in a million. Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, his father was a Unitarian minister, a path that Emerson would later follow. Emerson lived in poverty during his early days. Yet, through hard work, he was accepted to Harvard but graduated without distinction in 1821. His family's high thinking and plain living though Emerson at an early age the importance of self-reliance and …
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…very inspired by Emerson's works. Harvard and elected overseer awarded Emerson an honorary degree in 1866 for the following year. In 1877, Emerson took another trip, this time to Europe and Egypt. He spent his last few year in his Concord home and died quietly in the spring of 1882. It was a great loss for society as a man who embodied the very qualities of the American spirit – its frankness, idealism, optimism, and self-confidence was forever lost.