Emily Post was born into a rich family in Baltimore, Maryland. Some records say her birthday was in 1873, and others say 1872. People are still not totally sure! She was the only child of her parents. Her father, Bruce Price, was a famous architect who designed nice vacation towns for wealthy people. Emily spent summers in these fancy places and learned how rich people acted, ate dinner, and talked to each other.
When Emily was young, she was taught that proper ladies should not work for money. She went to private schools and a finishing school, which taught girls manners instead of math or science.
When she grew up, Emily became a debutante, which means she was introduced to New York high society at fancy parties. At one party, she met a man named Edwin Main Post. They got married in 1892. They had two sons. But later, Edwin was unfaithful to Emily, and they got divorced in 1905. Divorce was very unusual back then, especially for a woman like Emily. She never got married again. Instead, she found a new way to make money: writing.
Emily started writing stories for magazines. Her first novel came out in 1897. She kept writing books, including one about rich people and marriage. In 1915, she took a long car trip across the country to a big fair in San Francisco. Roads were bad, and cars broke down a lot back then! She wrote about her trip in a magazine, and later turned it into a book.
In 1922, Emily wrote her most famous book. It was called Etiquette. It taught people how to behave at dinners, weddings, and in business. The book said that good manners come from being kind and caring about others, not just from following silly rules. The book became super popular. Soon, people started saying "according to Emily Post" when they talked about good manners.
After that, Emily wrote more books. She wrote one for young women becoming debutantes, one about treating children with respect, and one about parties. She also updated her Etiquette book during World War II to talk about new rules for that hard time.
Emily also used new inventions to share her ideas. In 1931, she started a radio show about manners. In 1939, she wrote a newspaper column that appeared in papers all over the country. In 1946, she even had a radio show about telephone manners, since telephones were becoming very popular.
That same year, in 1946, Emily started the Emily Post Institute. This group helped keep teaching her ideas about manners even after she was gone. By this time, people saw her as the top expert on manners in America.
Emily kept her personal life private. After her divorce, she focused on raising her two sons and working hard on her writing career. Friends said she was funny and down-to-earth, even though she cared a lot about good manners.
Her family kept her work going. Her descendants, like Elizabeth Post and Peggy Post, wrote new versions of her book for new generations.
Emily Post died on September 25, 1960, in New York City. She was 87 years old. Even after she died, people still used the phrase "according to Emily Post." Today, people remember her as the "queen of etiquette." She taught people that good manners really just mean being kind and thoughtful toward others.
