George S. Clason

George Samuel Clason (November 7, 1874 – April 7, 1957 ), also known as George S. Clason, was born in Louisiana, Missouri, and died in Napa, California. During his eighty-two years, he was a soldier, businessman, and writer. He served in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War. Clason started two companies, the Clason Map Company of Denver, Colorado, and the Clason Publishing Company. 

The Clason Map Company was the first to publish a road atlas of the United States and Canada and did not survive the Great Depression. George Clason is best known for writing a series of informational pamphlets about being thrifty and how to achieve financial success. He started writing pamphlets in 1926, using parables that were set in ancient Babylon. 

Banks and insurance companies began to distribute the parables, and the most famous ones were compiled into the book The Richest Man in Babylon. Clason's book "Gold Ahead" was renamed as The Richest Man in Babylon. Clason was married twice, the first time to Ida Ann Venable and the second to Anna Burt.