Napoleon Hill was born in Pound, Southwest Virginia, in 1883. He was a highly successful American author in the new thought movement and is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers on success. Due to a lack of funds, Hill had to drop out of college. The turning point in his life occurred in 1908 when he interviewed the industrialist Andrew Carnegie as part of an assignment. Through Carnegie's introductions, Hill conducted studies that led to the development of the Philosophy of Achievement, which he and Carnegie presented as a formula for rags-to-riches success. Hill published this work initially in 1928 as the multi-volume study course The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons. He later produced his most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, which is one of the bestselling books of all time. Hill worked as a speechwriter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 presidential campaign. He passed away at the age of 87.