Henry Watterson
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Henry Watterson (February 16, 1840–December 22, 1921) was a United States journalist who founded the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Born in Washington, D.C., the son of Harvey Magee Watterson, a journalist and Congressman, Watterson became a newspaper reporter early in his life. He fought for the Confederate States of America under General Nathan B. Forrest during the American Civil War, and edited a pro-Confederate newspaper, the Chattanooga Rebel.
After the war, Watterson edited newspapers in several states before settling down in Louisville, Kentucky to edit the Louisville Journal. When that paper merged with the Louisville Courier in 1868, the Courier-Journal was formed. This paper soon gained national attention for its excellent reporting. He was a leader of the Liberal Republican movement in 1872. By 1876 he was a Democrat; his proposal for hundreds of thousands of Democrats to march on Washington to force the election of Tilden angered President Ulysses S. Grant, who noted that nobody threatened Grant.
Watterson was called "the last of the great personal journalists", writing colorful and controversial editorials on many topics. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1918 for two editorials supporting U.S. entry into World War I, and he remained the editor until 1919.
During his tenure as editor, Watterson was a Democratic representative in Congress from 1876 to 1877, and was a five-time delegate to the National Democratic Convention, where, in 1892, he received a smattering of votes for the vice presidential nomination. He became widely known as a lecturer and orator. His publications include History of the Spanish-American War (1899) and The Compromises of Life (1902).
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[edit] Trivia
- His nickname was "Marse Henry".
- Watterson was the nephew of Thomas Stanley Matthews.
- The Henry Watterson Expressway, I-264 in Louisville, was named after him.
- "Marse" Watterson appears on an 83p commemorative stamp from the Isle of Man Post Office, as part of a series honoring Manx-Americans.
[edit] Bibliography
- Daniel S. Margolies. Henry Watterson And the New South: The Politics of Empire, Free Trade, And Globalization (2006)
- Joseph F. Wall, Henry Watterson, Reconstructed Rebel, (1956)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Works by Henry Watterson at Project Gutenberg
- Online version of Watterson's memoirs from a UNC-Chapel Hill website
| Preceded by Edward Y. Parsons |
U.S. Congressman, Kentucky 5th District 1876 - 1877 |
Succeeded by Albert S. Willis |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Watterson, Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | United States journalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 16, 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Washington, D.C., United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 22, 1921 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | unknown |
Categories: 1840 births | 1921 deaths | History of Louisville | Kentucky politicians | Kentucky writers | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky | American newspaper publishers (people) of the 19th century | American newspaper publishers (people) of the 20th century | People from Louisville, Kentucky
