William George Jordan

William George Jordan was an American editor, lecturer and essayist.

Jordan was born in New York City on March 6, 1864. He graduated from the City College of New York and began his literary career as editor of Book Chat in 1884. He joined Current Literature in 1888 and became its managing editor. In 1891 he left Current Literature and moved to Chicago where he started a lecture program on his system of Mental Training. He returned to Current Literature in January 1894 as its managing editor and then resigned again in August 1896. In 1897 he was hired as the managing editor for The Ladies Home Journal, after which he edited The Saturday Evening Post (1888–89). From 1899 to 1905 he was the editor and vice-president of Continental Publishing Company. He was the editor of the publication Search-Light between 1905 and 1906.

In 1907 he published a pamphlet entitled The House of Governors; A New Idea in American Politics Aiming to Promote Uniform Legislation on Vital Questions, to Conserve States Rights, to Lessen Centralization, to Secure a Fuller, Freer Voice of the People, and to Make a Stronger Nation. This work was circulated to each state governor, US President Theodore Roosevelt and members of his cabinet. The concept was well received, and the first meeting of the governors was held in Washington January 18 through 20, 1910. Jordan was elected secretary of this body at the first meeting and then dropped as secretary in September 1911. Nevertheless, the group became part of his legacy, and his part in its formation was often cited in later references to him by the press.

Jordan was married to Nellie Blanche Mitchell on May 6, 1922, in New York City at the Grace Episcopal Church.

He died of pneumonia in New York City on 20 April 1928 at his home.

Jordan wrote a number of personal improvement and self-help books in the early 1900s, one of the most popular being The Majesty of Calmness.