Childs, George W

Childs, George W.

an American philanthropist, was born in Baltimore, May 12, 1829. He left school at an early age, and drifted into the United States navy, in which service he remained fifteen months at Norfolk, Virginia. When about fourteen he went to Philadelphia, entering the employ of P. Thomson, a bookseller. At eighteen he set up a small bookstore for himself, and three years later with his father-in-law to began as a book publisher under the firm name of R.E. Peterson & Co., which later became Childs & Peterson. In 1864 he purchased the Public Ledger, with which he was connected until his death, February 3, 1894. Among his many charitable works were the founding of the home for aged printers at Colorado Springs, stupplying memorial windows to George Herbert and William Cowper in Westminster Abbey, a monument to Edgar Allan Poe, and other work of like character. His greatest work was in aiding the young to secure an education, many owing their knowledge and position to his open purse.