= William_George

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= William_George_Jordan =
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Introduction
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William George Jordan (March 6, 1864 - April 20, 1928) was an American
editor, lecturer and essayist.

Life
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Jordan was born in New York City on March 6, 1864. He graduated from
the City College of New York and began his literary career as editor
of 'Book Chat' in 1884. He joined 'Current Literature' in 1888 and
became its managing editor. In 1891 he left 'Current Literature' and
moved to Chicago where he started a lecture program on his system of
Mental Training. He returned to 'Current Literature' in January 1894
as its managing editor and then resigned again in August 1896. In 1897
he was hired as the managing editor for 'The Ladies Home Journal,'
after which he edited 'The Saturday Evening Post' (1888-89). From 1899
to 1905 he was the editor and vice-president of Continental Publishing
Company. He was the editor of the publication 'Search-Light' between
1905 and 1906.

On July 26 of 1891, the 'Chicago Inter-Ocean' published an interview
with Mr. Jordan where he discussed his thoughts about education and
"Mental Training". After the article was published he received so many
requests for information that he scheduled a trip back in October to
lecture on the subject. The 'Inter-Ocean' in a September 24 article
reported that:

During the past few weeks the calls from Chicago have been so
numerous, enthusiastic and positive for lecture courses and private
society classes that he has concluded to resign his position in New
York and come to Chicago.

He remained in Chicago for two years and then returned to 'Current
Literature' in 1894. In 1894 he published a short 20-page pamphlet
entitled 'Mental Training, a Remedy for Education' (this was
republished again in 1907), that summarized his lectures. The opening
paragraph starts as follows:

There are two great things that education should do for the
individual--It should train his senses, and teach him to think.
Education, as we know it to-day, does not truly do either; it gives
the individual only a vast accumulation of facts, unclassified,
undigested, and seen in no true relations. Like seeds kept in a box,
they may be retained, but they do not grow.

This style of speaking plainly about a principle and then drawing
mind-pictures using analogies is a style that he utilized broadly in
all his writings. It is style well suited to the general subject of
self-improvement that was the focus of most of his publications.

After he returned to New York, 'The Literary Review' said the
following:

Though Mr. Jordan has won a fine reputation as an editor he is one of
the youngest of the magazine editors in this city. He has delivered
many lectures on mental training in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis,
and other cities, and his system has been received with great favor in
all of these. During the last year he has brought 'Current Literature'
to a place of really notable excellence by the keen watchfulness which
he keeps over the literary work that is being done both in this
country and in England, by his catholic taste, and by his swift
judgment. Besides being a first-rate editor and lecturer he is an
admirable writer, as his vigorous editorials prove. Thus far nearly
all of his contributions to the magazine have been unsigned, and his
forthcoming book, it is thought, will establish his reputation as an
author with a distinct and forcible style as well as of strong and
original thought.

He published his first book, 'The Kingship of Self-Control,' in 1898
and his last in 1926, two years before his death.

In 1907 he published a pamphlet entitled 'The House of Governors; A
New Idea in American Politics Aiming to Promote Uniform Legislation on
Vital Questions, to Conserve States Rights, to Lessen Centralization,
to Secure a Fuller, Freer Voice of the People, and to Make a Stronger
Nation'. This work was circulated to each state governor, US President
Theodore Roosevelt and members of his cabinet. The concept was well
received, and the first meeting of the governors was held in
Washington January 18 through 20, 1910. Jordan was elected secretary
of this body at the first meeting and then dropped as secretary in
September 1911. Nevertheless, the group became part of his legacy, and
his part in its formation was often cited in later references to him
by the press.

Jordan was married to Nellie Blanche Mitchell on May 6, 1922, in New
York City at the Grace Episcopal Church.

He died of pneumonia in New York City on 20 April 1928 at his home.

Works
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Jordan wrote a number of personal improvement and self-help books in
the early 1900s, one of the most popular being 'The Majesty of
Calmness'.

His other works include:
*'Mental Training', 1894
*'The Kingship of Self-Control', 1898
*'The Majesty of Calmness', 1900
*'The Power of Truth', 1902
*'Self-Control, Its Kingship and Majesty', 1905, 'The Kingship of
Self-Control' and 'The Majesty of Calmness' published as a single
book.
*'The House of Governors', 1907
*'The Crown of Individuality', 1909
*'The Power of Purpose', 1910, subset of 'The Crown of Individuality'.
*'Little Problems of Married Life', 1910
*'Five National Platforms: Dissected, Classified and Indexed', 1912
*'What Every American Should Know, A Voters Handbook of the
Presidential Campaign …', 1916
*'Feodor Vladimir Larrovitch: An Appreciation of His Life and Works',
1918
*'What Every American Should Know About the League of Nations', 1919
*'One Hundred Years of Fire Insurance', 1919 -- co-authored with Henry
R. Gall
*'The Trusteeship of Life', 1921
*'Charles Waldo Haskins, An American Pioneer in Accountancy', 1923
*'At the Historic Center of the United States--The New Independence
Building', 1925 - co-authored with William C. Sproul, and Howell
Lewis Shay
*'The Vision of High Ideals', 1926. This books consists of the last
three chapters from 'The Trusteeship of Life'

The rights to 'The Power of Truth' were purchased by Heber J. Grant,
president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in
conjunction with the Deseret Book Company around 1933. Grant had come
across the book while in England sometime between 1903 and 1906. He
purchased more than four thousand copies from the English publisher
and before leaving England ordered another thousand. He also
distributed more than seven thousand copies of just the first chapter.
In a letter to Jordan dated October 5, 1907, Grant said: "I know of no
book of the same size, that has made a more profound impression upon
my mind, and whose teachings I consider of greater value."

External links
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*
*
*
*
*
[http://mannkindperspectives.blogspot.com/search/label/William%20George%20Jordan
Posts about William George Jordan] by Rod Mann
;Individual books
* [https://archive.org/details/littleproblemsof00jord Little Problems
of Married Life] at Google Books
* [https://archive.org/details/crownindividual00jordgoog The Crown of
Individuality] at Google Books
*
[http://www.freedomnotes.com/Documents/WGJ/The_House_of_Governors_Scan.pdf
The House of Governors - Scanned version] at Freedomnotes.com
* [https://archive.org/details/kingshipselfcon01jordgoog The Kingship
of Self-Control] at Internet Archive
* [https://archive.org/details/majestycalmness00jordgoog The Majesty
of Calmness] at Internet Archive
*
[http://read.libripass.com/william_george_jordan-the_majesty_of_calmness.htm
The Majesty of Calmness] Read Online at LibriPass.com
*
[https://librivox.org/the-majesty-of-calmness-by-william-george-jordan/
The Majesty of Calmness] Audio book at Librivox
* [https://archive.org/details/powertruthindiv01jordgoog The Power of
Truth] at Google Books
* [https://archive.org/details/littleproblemsof00jord The Trusteeship
of Life] at Google Books

License
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License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_George_Jordan