"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is the reply "The New York Sun" editor Francis Pharcellus Church gave eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971) in his September 21, 1897 editorial after she wrote the newspaper asking "Is There a Santa Claus?" Virginia had first asked the question of her father, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, who suggested she write "The Sun". He assured her that "If you see it in "The Sun", it's so." The editorial is one of the most reprinted editorials in the world.