Richard "Dick" Harding Davis, circa 1907
"1900s Ideal Man" Richard Harding Davis embodied derring-do and masculinity. A novelist, journalist, and dapper man-about-town, he was a leading war correspondent, covering the Spanish–American War, Second Boer War, and World War I. His dramatic reports paired with his striking appearance: square-jawed, stylish, and always clean-shaven, setting a trend at the turn of the 20th century. Many leading writers admired him, and he inspired illustrator Charles Dana Gibson's "Gibson man." People of all genders would exclaim, "What a Dick!" His personality blended vanity with self-deprecation. "What I like most in men," he said, "is the ability to sit opposite a mirror at dinner and not look in it" — a trait he admitted to lacking. Davis died from a sudden heart attack on April 11, 1916, while on a telephone call a week before his 52nd birthday.
Read more [here.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Harding_Davis)
Charles Dana Gibson, an American illustrator, working at his desk, around the early 1900s.
Charles Dana Gibson was a renowned American illustrator active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He gained fame for synthesizing the "Gibson Girl," a symbolic depiction of the idealized Euro-American woman of that era. This figure embodied both beauty and independence, reflecting the evolving societal views of women at the dawn of the 20th century.
To complement his Gibson Girl, Gibson introduced the Gibson Man as her counterpart. Distinguished, gallant, and full of admiration, the Gibson Man clearly revered the Gibson Girl. Gibson's illustrations subtly highlighted his admiration for women's superiority, but he managed to convey this without making men overtly conscious of this bias. The inspiration for Gibson's Man was [Richard Harding Davis,](https://reddit.com/r/OldSchoolCool/s/oYCRh8qjz the turn-of-the-century "Ideal Man," who also likely didn't recognize his perceived inferiority in Gibson's view.
Read more about Gibson [here.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dana_Gibson)
Read more about the ["Gibson Girl."](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Girl)