Bellamy, Francis (1855-1931), an American clergyman and editor, is believed to be the author of the Pledge of Allegiance, a statement of loyalty to the United States. The pledge was written in 1892 for a nationwide celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s landing in America. The pledge came to be recited daily by schoolchildren throughout the country.
Bellamy was born in Mount Morris, New York. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1876. He then attended the Rochester Theological Seminary until 1879 and became a Baptist minister. Bellamy served as pastor of churches in Little Falls, New York, and in Boston before he left the ministry in 1891.
From 1891 to 1903, Bellamy served as editor and writer for a number of publications, including the magazine The Youth’s Companion. From 1904 to 1915, he was advertising editor for Everybody’s Magazine. He then worked as an account executive with a New York advertising company until he retired in 1921.
In 1892, while Bellamy was with The Youth’s Companion, he chaired the executive committee for the National Public Schools Celebration of Columbus Day. He assisted James B. Upham, the head of the magazine’s premium department, in planning the celebration. It is believed that Bellamy wrote the words of the pledge at Upham’s suggestion. But in accordance with the magazine’s policy, no author’s name was given when the pledge was published in September 1892. Shortly afterward, on October 12, schoolchildren recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time at the Columbus Day celebration.
Years later, a controversy arose over whether it was Bellamy or Upham who had written the pledge. In 1939, a committee of three university professors reviewed the matter and determined that Bellamy was the author of the pledge.
