Stilson Hutchins

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Stilson Hutchins (1838 - 1912) was an American newspaper reporter and publisher, best known as founder of the Washington Post.

Hutchins was born in New Hampshire. He moved to Saint Louis, establishing the Saint Louis Times newspaper in 1866, and becoming a Missouri state representative for the Democratic Party.

He subsequently moved to Washington, D.C. where he founded the Washington Post to advance Democratic Party views. It was first published on December 6, 1877, with circulation reaching more than 6,000 copies per day within a year. In 1880 Joseph Pulitzer joined the staff. By 1888 Hutchins cut his allegiance to the Democrats, and bought out the paper's only competitor (the Republican National). He sold the Post in 1889.

In 1900 Hutchins funded Gaetano Trentanove's statue of Daniel Webster in Scott Circle, Washington, D.C..

[edit] References

• Edward J. Gallagher, Founder of the Washington Post: A Biography of Stilson Hutchins, 1838-1912, Laconia: Citizen Publishing Company, 1965.
• Washington Post history