Elbert Hubbard

Born in Bloomington, Illinois, Elbert Hubbard became known as a writer, publisher, and entrepreneur with a gift for lively, opinionated prose. After time in business, he founded the Roycroft community in East Aurora, where he built a successful press and helped popularize Arts and Crafts ideals in the United States.

His best-known work is A Message to Garcia, a short piece that became enormously famous in the late 1890s. Alongside essays, Hubbard also published magazines and books, shaping a public image as a cheerful rebel, cultural commentator, and advocate for craftsmanship.

His life ended in 1915 when he and his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, died in the sinking of the Lusitania. That tragic ending fixed his name in public memory, but his larger legacy comes from the blend of writing, publishing, and design culture he created through Roycroft.