Goodman was born on September 18, 1838, in
Masonville, New York. In 1856 he moved to California with his father and began working as a typesetter at
The Golden Era, a leading literary newspaper in San Francisco. In less than five years he became the owner and editor of the
Territorial Enterprise in
Virginia City, Nevada. Goodman grew the
Enterprise from a struggling local paper into one of the preeminent west coast newspapers with a national following. It was known for its expert reporting on the mining industry, its literary quality, and its editorial stances against corruption in business and government. The
Enterprise was financially independent and Goodman was fearless in his editorial stances. Early on he exposed the corruption of the Nevada Territory Supreme Court and forced the entire bench to resign. He denounced the formation of a diamond-mining corporation as a swindle that was soon to be exposed as the
diamond hoax of 1872. In 1872 he opposed the US Senate candidacy of
William Sharon, one of the wealthiest and most ruthless financiers in the
Comstock. In 1862 Goodman hired
Samuel Clemens as a local reporter. Although Clemens had published short stories previously, his work under Goodman's editorship at the
Territorial Enterprise was credited with giving the author his initial "start" due to the extensive circulation of the newspaper. Goodman and Clemens became friends and corresponded for many years. In 1871 Goodman visited Clemens in New York to assist him with the composition of
Roughing It. The
Enterprise formed the nucleus of a group of writers that would eventually become known as the
Sagebrush School of literature. Goodman himself was a writer in this tradition along with Clemens,
Dan DeQuille,
Rollin M. Daggett and several other writers who worked in Virginia City at some point in their careers. In 1870 Goodman travelled to Europe and sent back letters to the
Enterprise detailing his experiences. They were published on the front page under the title, "Somewhat from Abroad (From an Irregular Correspondent)." In 1871 Goodman and
Rollin M. Daggett coauthored the play
The Psychoscope. In 1872 the play ran for one brief engagement in Virginia City. It starred
John McCullough along with the touring cast of the
California Theatre. The play exceeded Victorian sensibilities by portraying the inner workings of a brothel, and was never again presented in the 19th century. Goodman sold his Virginia City newspaper in 1874, returned to San Francisco and took a seat on the
Pacific Stock Exchange. He made a fortune in various mining investments including a silver mine he purchased with
John P. Jones. He also continued to work as a journalist and writer, becoming managing editor of the
San Francisco Post and founding
The San Franciscan, a distinguished literary magazine. Later, in the early 1880s, Goodman purchased a large raisin vineyard near Fresno and lived there several years. During that time he became interested in the glyphs of the ancient Mayas and devoted many years to deciphering them. Goodman gave credit to
Gustavus A. Eisen for directing his attention to the problems of the Maya inscriptions and calendar. Eisen was a scientist at the
California Academy of Sciences and also owned a vineyard in the Fresno area. With Eisen's encouragement, professional contacts, and research materials, Goodman set to work. His research was initially guided by previously published research as well as photographic documentation of molds and glyphs. Most of the photographs were supplied by
Alfred Maudslay, an English archaeologist who made significant contributions to Central American archeology. His most important breakthrough occurred when he came across the
Relación de las cosas de Yucatán by Bishop
Diego de Landa, written in 1566 but never published until 1864 when it was uncovered by the French antiquarian,
Brasseur de Bourbourg. Goodman had hoped that the California Academy of Sciences would publish his findings but they declined. Instead, Maudslay arranged to include it as an appendix to his volume on Maya archaeology, published in 1897. ==Notes==