History
The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the United States. In 1861, it circulated 84,000 copies and called itself "the most largely circulated journal in the world." He stated that the function of a newspaper "is not to instruct but to startle." Bennett's politics tended to be anti-Catholic and he had tended to favor the Know-Nothing faction though he was not particularly anti-immigrant as they were. During the American Civil War, it was a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party. Frederic Hudson served as managing editor of the paper from 1846–1866.
Under Bennett's son, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the paper financed Henry Morton Stanley's expeditions into Africa to find David Livingstone, where they met on November 10, 1871. The paper also supported Stanley's trans-Africa exploration, and in 1879 supported the ill-fated expedition of George W. DeLong to the arctic region.
On October 4, 1887, Bennett Jr. sent Julius Chambers to Paris, France to launch a European edition. Following Bennett Jr.'s move to Paris, the New York Herald suffered from his attempt to manage its operation in New York by telegram. In 1924, after Bennett Jr.'s death, the New York Herald was acquired by its smaller rival, the New York Tribune, to form the New York Herald Tribune. In 1959, the New York Herald Tribune and its European edition were sold to John Hay Whitney, then the U.S. ambassador to Britain. In 1966 the New York paper ceased publication. The Washington Post and the New York Times acquired joint control of the European edition, renaming it the International Herald Tribune. Today, the IHT, now owned entirely by the New York Times, remains an English language paper, printed at 35 sites around the world and for sale in more than 180 countries.
When the Herald was still under the authority of its original publisher, Bennett, it was considered to be the most invasive and sensationalist of the leading New York papers. Its ability to entertain the public with timely daily news made it the leading circulation paper of its time.
Read more about this topic: New York Herald
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