Kenneth J. Beebe*
Class of 1947
- Founder Horatio Alger Awards Committee
- Founder Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc.
This country needs a new birth of the philosophy and spirit of Horatio Alger, whose books showed that youth could rise from humble beginnings to outstanding achievement and service.
Kenneth Beebe was raised in Battle Creek, Michigan. He worked his way through the University of Illinois by selling "memory books" and graduated in 1913 with a degree in educational counseling. He then went to work for the American Schools and Colleges Association, an organization founded by his older brother, Vernon.
Beebe opened a branch office for the firm in New York at the newly opened Rockefeller Center. In 1946, at a time when Beebe felt that young people needed inspiration to work toward the American dream, he presented two awards to Americans who had done so.
The following year, Beebe aligned his awards with Horatio Alger Jr., the 19th-century writer whose books embodied the American "rags-to-riches" theme. He incorporated the Horatio Alger Awards Committee in 1951 and served as its president from that time until his death in 1970.