author
1819–1881
Remembered for the line “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world,” this 19th-century American poet built a wide readership with patriotic verse, dramatic poems, and literary ambition that carried him from Kentucky to New York.
Born in Kentucky in 1819, William Ross Wallace studied law before turning more fully toward literature. He moved to New York in 1841, where he practiced law for a time while also writing poetry and fiction.
Wallace became best known for the poem containing his famous line about the hand that rocks the cradle, a phrase that has outlived most of his other work. His books included Alban the Pirate and Meditations in America, and Other Poems, and his writing was well regarded by many readers in the middle of the 19th century.
He remained part of New York’s literary world until his death on May 5, 1881. Although he is not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, his most famous line has kept his name alive in American literary history.