Ralph Waldo Emerson Born on May 25, Ralph Waldo Emerson came from a long line of merchants on his mother’s side and preachers on his father’s side. It is possibly this unique conglomeration of life experiences that lead Emerson to be possibly one of the greatest and most influential essayists and thinkers of all time. Emerson was taught at a very young age not to be dependent on others (a corner stone in his transcendental beliefs) but rather to believe in himself. His grandfather once said, “I pray every night that none of my descendants might ever be rich.” As a boy, Emerson was serious and some what withdrawn from the world of play. He did not interact with other children with the exce