The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-24
TODAY IN HISTORY
Birthday Of the Newspaper.
APRIL q, 1910,

Today is the birthday OF the Ameri-
can newspaper, and upon which Journal
! ISM one OF the most important profes-
| slons OF civilized life. was hrm!y estap-
| llshed on this continent on April "a. l'OA.
| in Boston. The first newspaper venture
! In America had been tragic failure Mr.
| Richard Pierce OF BoSton. In 1880. began
tne publication OF Public Occurrences.
| He declared In his salutatory that there
were too many upfoundsd and bascless
| rumors floating about Boston and the
mission of his paper was TO record them,
and then trace them 10 their source.
| But those were cruel times, and the
| Massachusetts legislature suppressed the
sheet after It's rirst issue. solemnly de-
cIaring IL TO be ~ pamphlet which came
ont contrary TO law and contained re-
hectlons OF very high nature"
The Boston News Letter is generally
considered the first American newspaper.
| Its first issue dated April "a. 1904. and
| John Campbell is named the editor.
This was a weekly paper, printed on a
sheet OF foolscap. sometimes OIL hall n
sheet and existed for seventy-two years.
| until the British troops evacuated Boston
| In l776. Its circulation was about 300.
The Boston Gazette was the next pa
| per 10 appear. the date being lIl9. More
| than nfty years later when Benjamin
! Franklin conhded To his mother his IN
tention TO start newspaper, the worthy
| ing OF? There are two newspapers I'm
| America now AS matter OF fact.
there were five, but three Of them were
so far away that Mrs. Franklin had not
The first New York paper. tho New
York Gazette. appeared In 1925, but the
most important OF the newspapers OF
colonial times was the New York Weekly
Journal, issued In that city In 1888. Ante
dating the New York Gazette BY six
years was the American Mercury. start
ed In Philadelphia In lIl9' and the tttn
American newspaper TO be established
was the Maryland Gazette, printed in
Annapolis. beginning In 1927.
The first daily newspaper In the United
States. the American Daily Advertiser.
appeared In Philadelphia In 1854, tho
New York Daily Advertiser in lIS5, and
In 1856 the Pittsburg Gazette. Follow
Ing the revolution most Of the journals
took on a political aspect, favoring one
party or the other. and new papers were
started to further political ends,
Glass papers. began 20 appear even
while party spirit dominated Journalism
The first religious paper. called the Re-
corder, was Issued at ChilliCothe. O.. in
1914. The Boston Recorder appeared in
rated by the American Farmer published
In Baltimore In 1918. and the Ploughboy
in Albany in 1921. New Orleans issued
the first successful commercial paper, the
New Orleans Price Current in lS22 and
since then all amusements. sciences, vo-
cations or interests have their own or
Eans.
The majority Of the century old news
papers are in the eastern states. nat
urally. Pennsylvania heading the list
with nineteen. followed by New York
chusetts with seven. The st. Louis Re-
public is the only century -od newspaper
west of the Mississippi, The first news
paper west of the Alleghenies was the
Mentucke Gazette Of Lexington founded
In 1857. and which still hourishes.