caption death_date death_place birth_place birth_date known_for image article_title name
samuel smiles by sir george reid 16 april 1904 -lrb- age 91 -rrb- 8 , england pembroke gardens , kensington , london w8 6hs high street , haddington , east lothian , scotland 23 december 1812 biographies and self-help books samuel smiles by sir george reid.jpg samuel smiles
 samuel smiles
samuel smiles

samuel smiles -lrb- 23 december 1812 -- 16 april 1904 -rrb- , was a scottish author and government reformer who campaigned on a chartist platform .
but he concluded that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws .
his masterpiece , `` self-help '' -lrb- 1859 -rrb- , promoted thrift and claimed that poverty was caused largely by irresponsible habits , while also attacking materialism and laissez-faire government .
it has been called `` the bible of mid-victorian liberalism '' , and it raised smiles to celebrity status almost overnight .
