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. He also served part of one term in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat.
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 elected to fill the rest of Edward Y. Parsons' term in the house when Parsons died in office.
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, retiring after conflicts with Robert Worth Bingham, who purchased the paper in 1918.
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).
Contents |
[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] External links
Biography at: http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000209
[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 |
