On Sunday, July 2, Theodore Robert “Bob” Faxon, 87, passed peacefully with his children and grandchildren by his side. Born in Hudson Hospital on December 4, 1935, to Hannah Bertram
On this Christmas Eve, The Daily News reprints this editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church as our gift to the community.
Church, who was born in Rochester, was editor at the New York Sun when he received a letter from 8-year-old Virginia OâHanlon. The veteran newsmanâs joyful and optimistic editorial response, which first appeared in the Sun on Sept. 21, 1897, is said to be the âmost copiedâ editorial in newspaper history. It has appeared in part or whole in numerous other editorials, dozens of languages, movies and on posters and stamps.
Some have said the editorial was uncharacteristic of Churchâs editorial style, which tended toward the sarcastic and sometimes disdainful. The former Civil War correspondent for The New York Times had a reputation for taking on tough issues.