Samuel Ullman (1840–1924) was an American businessman, poet, humanitarian, and religious leader, best known for his inspirational poem Youth (1924.) His writings emphasized optimism, perseverance, and the spirit of youth, influencing both American and Japanese culture.
Born in Hechingen, Germany, Ullman immigrated to the United States in 1851, settling in Port Gibson, Mississippi. After briefly serving in the Confederate Army, he moved to Natchez, Mississippi, where he became a businessman, city alderman, and school board member. In 1884, he relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, where he served on the city’s first board of education, advocating equal opportunities for Black children.
Deeply engaged in community and religious life, Ullman was president and lay rabbi of Temple Emanu-El. In later years, he focused on writing poetry and essays on love, nature, religion, and personal growth.
His most famous work, Youth (1924,) gained recognition after General Douglas MacArthur displayed it in his Tokyo office and frequently quoted it. The poem became immensely popular in Japan, symbolizing resilience and vitality.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Samuel Ullman
Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations.
—Samuel Ullman
Topics: Maturity, Age
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
—Samuel Ullman
Topics: Age, Aging
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
—Samuel Ullman
Topics: Ideals, Aging, Youth
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