The Milwaukee Public Library dates to 1878 when the State Legislature on Feb. 7 authorized the City to establish a public library. But the library can trace its lineage back further, to 1847 and the organization of the Young Men's Association, a subscription library which collected dues from its members. The group rented space for its library in a number of locations over the years and expanded into sponsoring a lecture series with such important speakers as Horace Mann, Horace Greeley and Ralph Waldo Emerson.