Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson who was born on May 25, 1803 in Boston was known as, "the leading member of the group of New England idealists known as the transcendentalists." [Benet- 17] His father, editor of the "Monthly Anthology" - a review of literature, and pastor at the Unitarian Church in Boston, died in 1811, when Ralph Waldo was only eight. With a scholarship to Harvard, Emerson entered in 1817. Not a outstanding student, Emerson graduated thirteenth out of 59 students in 1821, and was elected class poet. After his graduation, he taught, even though he was suffering from symtoms of tuberculosis. Many generations of the Emerson family were ministers, so