The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. It was founded in 1947 to promote and ensure the American Dream for future generations, honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity, and to emphasize the importance of higher education. The association is named after Horatio Alger, a 19th-century author of hundreds of dime novels in the "rags-to-riches" genre who extolled the importance of perseverance and hard work.