Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was an
American philosopher and poet whose spirit
of independence early led him to leave the
pulpit for the lecture platform where he
earned high rank as the leading
transcendentalist and the foremost figure
in the famous Concord group. His profound
vision, his ringing spirit of
individualism and his love of democracy
place him among the New World's
philosophic pantheon.