On this day in 1832, Horatio Alger was born in Revere. The author of the rags-to-riches stories that captured the imagination of generations of American boys, Alger was always more interested in literature than in the ministry, the profession his father had chosen for him. He attended college and divinity school, but left the ministry after only a few years to pursue a writing career following accusations of sexual misconduct. At age 30, he moved to New York and began writing stories about boys living by their wits on the city streets. In Alger's tales, the impoverished but virtuous hero is befriended by a wealthy gentleman who helps establish him in business. Over the next 35 years, Horatio Alger wrote more than 70 stories, all with this same basic plot. His name has become synonymous with the rise from "rags to riches" despite the fact that Alger himself struggled financially during his lifetime.