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Joseph Medill
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| Biography: Joseph Medill |
American editor and publisher Joseph Medill (1823-1899), a staunch abolitionist and an early advocate of the Republican party, was influential in Abraham Lincoln's presidential drive.
Joseph Medill was born near the village of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, on April 6, 1823. His father, who had emigrated from Ireland, moved the family to Ohio in 1832. Except for brief schooling, young Medill educated himself. He studied law with attorneys and was admitted to the bar in 1846. But law practice was uncertain, so he turned to journalism, purchasing the Coshocton Whig in 1849 and renaming it the Republican. In 1851 he established the Daily Forest City in Cleveland, which he consolidated the following year with the Free Democrat; he called the new paper the Cleveland Leader. In 1852 Medill married Katherine Patrick.
Medill did not found the Chicago Tribune. He bought an interest in it in 1855, the year he became managing editor, and he bought controlling interest in 1874. Many people were involved in establishing the Tribune, but Medill gave the paper its impetus and direction.
Most authorities credit Medill with popularizing the name "Republican" for the rising new political party. He tried to get Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation many months before Lincoln thought reasonable. He personally reported many of Lincoln's speeches, and Lincoln often visited the Tribune offices before he became president. Medill was opposed to a compromise of any type with the South and joined the Radical Republicans after the Civil War.
The Chicago fire of 1871 destroyed the Tribune building, but the Tribune was back on the streets in 2 days. The first, revitalized issue carried Medill's famous editorial "Cheer Up." He ran for mayor as a Republican on the "Fireproof Ticket" and was elected.
One of the Tribune's greatest achievements was the publication in May 1881 of a 16-page special supplement that gave the complete, newly revised version of the New Testament. Medill also promoted his city, and largely through his efforts Chicago became the site of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. He was strongly nationalistic; after the sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in 1898, he beat the drums for the Spanish-American War.
Medill died on March 16, 1899, in his winter home at San Antonio, Tex. He had brought the Tribune from a circulation of 1,200 to 200,000. His paper cited an appropriate epitaph: "His monument is The Chicago Tribune."
Further Reading
Philip Kinsley's three-volume work, The Chicago Tribune: Its First Hundred Years (1943-1946), is illuminating but diffuse. The Chicago Tribune's Joseph Medill: A Brief Biography and an Appreciation (1947), by the Chicago Tribune editors, gives a favorable view of Medill; and Frank C. Waldrop, McCormick of Chicago: An Unconventional Portrait of a Controversial Figure (1966), gives a balanced, if limited, appraisal of him. Also useful is John Tebbel, An American Dynasty (1947).
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Joseph Medill |
Medill, Joseph (mədĭl'), 1823-99, American journalist, b. near St. John, N.B., Canada. His family moved to a farm near Massillon, Ohio, in 1832. He was admitted to the bar in 1846, but in 1849 abandoned law and with his three brothers bought the Coshocton Whig, which he renamed the Republican. In 1851 he founded the Daily Forest City in Cleveland and later merged it with a Free-Soil paper to form the Cleveland Leader. Medill bought an interest in the Chicago Tribune in 1855, became its managing editor and business manager, and from 1874 until his death had absolute control of the paper. He was important in the formation of the Republican party (he is credited with having suggested its name) and was a warm supporter and friend of Lincoln. In the Civil War he advocated the emancipation and arming of the slaves and in Reconstruction days backed the radical Republicans in Congress. He was a member of the Illinois constitutional convention of 1869, was one of the first U.S. civil service commissioners (1871), and was elected (1871) mayor of Chicago.
Bibliography
See P. Kinsley, The Chicago Tribune (3 vol., 1943-46); J. Tebbel, An American Dynasty (1947).
| Wikipedia: Joseph Medill |
| Joseph Medill | |
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26th Mayor of Chicago
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| In office 1871 – 1873 |
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| Preceded by | Roswell B. Mason |
| Succeeded by | (Lester L. Bond), Harvey Doolittle Colvin |
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| Born | April 6, 1823 Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | March 16, 1899 (aged 75) Chicago, Illinois |
| Political party | Fireproof |
| Children | Kate Medill Elinor Medill |
| Residence | Wheaton, Illinois |
Joseph Medill (April 6, 1823 – March 16, 1899) was an American newspaper editor and publisher, and politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, and was mayor of Chicago, Illinois.
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Biography
Medill was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1853, Medill and Edwin Cowles started a newspaper in in Cleveland, Ohio: the Leader (later absorbed by the Plain Dealer). In 1854, he was asked to become managing editor of the Tribune by its part-owner, Captain. J. D. Webster. Medill was further encouraged to come to Chicago by Dr. Charles H. Ray of Galena, Illinois, and editor Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune.
In 1855, Medill sold his interest in the Leader to Cowles, and bought the the Tribune in partnership with Dr. Ray and Cowles' brother Alfred.[1]
Under Medill's management, the Tribune flourished, becoming one of the largests newspaper in Chicago. Medill served as its managing editor until 1864, when Horace White became editor-in-chief. At that time Medill left day-to-day operations of the Tribune for political activities.
However, White clashed with Medill over the Presidential election of 1872. So, in 1873 Medill bought additional equity from Cowles and from White, becoming majority owner. In 1874 he replaced White as editor-in-chief. Medill served as editor-in-chief until his death.
Political activity
Under Medill, the Tribune became the leading Republican newspaper in Chicago. Though probably holding what would now be considered racist views, Medill was strongly anti-slavery, supporting both the Free-Soil cause and Abolitionism. Medill was a major supporter of Abraham Lincoln in the 1850s. Medill and the Tribune were instrumental in Lincoln's nomination for the Presidency, and were equally supportive of the Union cause during the American Civil War. The Tribune's chief adversary through this period was the Chicago Times, which supported the Democrats.
In 1864, Medill left the Tribune editorship for political activity, which occupied him for the next ten years. He was appointed by President Grant to the first Civil Service Commission. In 1870, he was elected as a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional convention. In 1871, after the Great Chicago Fire, Medill was elected mayor of Chicago as candidate of the temporary "Fireproof" party, serving for two years. As mayor, Medill gained more power for the mayor's office, created Chicago's first public library, enforced blue laws and reformed the police and fire departments. However, the stress of the job broke down his health. In August 1873, he appointed Lester L. Bond as Acting Mayor for the remaining 3 1/2 months of his term, and went to Europe on a convalescent tour.
Medill was a strong Republican loyalist, who supported President Grant for re-election in 1872. The breach with White came because White supported the breakaway Liberal Republicans, reformists who nominated Horace Greeley for President. It was also at this time that Medill broke with Greeley.
Family
Medill had two daughters: Kate and Elinor (Nellie).
Nellie married Tribune reporter Robert W. Patterson Jr. Their children Joseph and Cissy were also successful newspaper publishers.
Kate married diplomat Robert Sanderson McCormick. He was the nephew of Cyrus McCormick, founder of the Chicago Times and Medill's long-time adversary. Their sons Joseph M. McCormick and Robert R. McCormick both served as heads of the Tribune.
Heritage
Medill's descendants include many prominent figures in American newspaper publishing.
- Grandson Joseph Medill Patterson founded the New York Daily News
- Granddaughter Cissy Patterson became editor of the Washington Herald and later publisher of the Herald and the Washington Times.
- Great-granddaughter Alicia Patterson founded and edited Newsday.
- Grandson Joseph M. McCormick was publisher of the Tribune for four years, and later a U.S. Senator.
- Grandson Robert R. McCormick succeeded his brother Joseph at the Tribune, where he was publisher for almost 50 years.
Medill acquired a large country estate in Wheaton, Illinois It was later occupied by his grandson, Robert R. McCormick, who named it "Cantigny". The Cantigny estate is now a park and museum facility, open to the public.
Medill Avenue, an east-west street on Chicago's north side, is named for him.
The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University is named after Joseph Medill. The School presents the annual Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism, which bears Joseph Medill's likeness.
Notes
- ^ Rushton, Wyatt (1916). Joseph Medill and the Chicago Tribune (thesis). University of Wisconsin-Madison via Google Books full view. http://books.google.com/books?id=gcc7AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA7-IA2. Retrieved 2007-10-24. and White, James Terry (1895). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States. James T. White & Company, via New York Public Library via Google Books full view. http://books.google.com/books?id=Td0DAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA224. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
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