Francis Pharcellus Church
Francis Pharcellus Church was an American publisher and editor. In 1897, Church wrote the editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". Produced in response to eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon's letter asking whether Santa Claus was real, the widely republished editorial has become one of the most famous ever written.
Church's Sun editorial of September 21, 1897, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
The monument of Francis Pharcellus Church in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a line from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church. Written in response to a letter by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon asking whether Santa Claus was real, the editorial was first published in the New York newspaper The Sun on September 21, 1897.
Original editorial in The Sun of September 21, 1897
Virginia O'Hanlon (circa 1895)