News at Eleven (Back Page): A story in the New York Times explained

that [Adlai] Stevenson planned to use "Desiderata" in personalized Christmas cards to loved ones that year. The poem's popularity surged.

Unfortunately, [Max] Ehrmann received no recognition at that moment. The copy at Stevenson's bedside was a reprint of a reprint, inaccurately attributing the poem to an unknown, 17th-century author. That mixup became almost as legendary as the poem itself.

from The Tribune-Star: Max Ehrmann: 'A rare man' one of Terre Haute's most memorable

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