Origin of the expression 'glass half full or half empty'

I am not native English speaker but in my native language (French) and local language (German) the expression about seeing the glass 'half full' or 'half empty' also exists. I then also noticed that the expressions exists in almost every languages.

Does anyone know a bit of history of this expression? I am mostly interested in the origins, how it spread, and by what famous occasion was it is used.

the Wikipedia page is not very rich of such information, neither is Google.

Solution 1:

A quick scan points to Ronald Reagan as the source of this expressio, when he stated in a press conference on February 21, 1985

You can say it's like saying, is the glass half full or half empty?

However, it seems the Peace Corps already used it in an advertisement campaign in the 1960s:

Delving a bit deeper, it seems the expression is even older: here is a version with a half full/empty bottle from 1933.

I'm quoting the quote from the linguistlist bulletinboard:

Two men were looking at a bottle of milk. Said one with a groan,
"The bottle is half empty." Said the other with a grin, "The bottle
is half full." The first belonged to the courters of disasters,
forever bemoaning their losses; the second to the invincibles who
win by counting their blessings.
source: Los Angeles Times, Feb 26, 1933, p. 14

As user Peremensoe comments on the straight dope:

The rather wordy explanation is suggestive of an early use.

Solution 2:

Slightly earlier than 1933 is this quote from The Mathematics Teacher, Volume 20 (1927): "Do you know Algebra?" Said the Rabbit. "Yes, I liked it in High School," said Alice. "What is one of the axioms of Algebra?" "Equal multiples of equals are equal," said Alice, selecting the first she remembered. "Indeed!" said the Rabbit. "You will admit that a bottle half-full is a bottle half-empty." "Yes," said Alice, wondering what was coming now. "Well, multiply both sides by two, and a bottle full is a bottle empty," said the Rabbit. "Well, it is that way in the United States anyhow," said Alice, a little impudently.