Arunah Shepherdson Abell
AS Abell , full name Arunah Shepherdson Abell (born August 10, 1806 in East Providence , Rhode Island , † April 19, 1888 in Baltimore , Maryland ), was an American editor and newspaper publisher . Together with two other investors he founded the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the Baltimore Sun .
Abell was an innovative newspaper publisher who used all the systems and technologies available at the time for messaging: Pony Express and telegraphy for the fast transmission of messages, as well as a new rotary press for producing the newspapers.
Life
Abell finished school at the age of 14 and worked as a salesman in a Caribbean goods store . He decided to become a printer and began training with the Providence Patriot in 1822 . He then opened printing plants in Boston and New York . In Philadelphia he saw the opportunity to publish a groschenblatt and founded the Public Ledger in 1836 together with his partners William M. Swain and Azariah H. Simmons . Within two years, the newspaper took over its rival Philadelphia Transcript . In 1837 Abell founded the Baltimore Sun, which after one year already had 12,000 subscribers . Both the Public Ledger and the Sun targeted the working class . In contrast to the Sun, the Ledger dealt with scandals and sensations much more freely . As a manager of the Sun, Abell worked with the publishers of the New Orleans Daily Picayune and established a pony express (an equestrian relay as a system of equestrian stations) to speed up the transmission of messages between Baltimore and New Orleans .
This express achieved a historic success when - before the US government knew about it - it announced the news of the US Army victory in Veracruz , Mexico in Baltimore . Abell submitted victory by telegram to President James K. Polk . He also encouraged Samuel FB Morse to develop the telegraph and was one of its most enthusiastic pioneering users.
Abell made full use of the technical possibilities of his time and used telegraph machines, but also carrier pigeons , to speed up the transmission of messages. Under his leadership, the Baltimore Sun became the first US newspaper to use a rotary press . When the American Civil War began in 1861 , the Sun had an estimated circulation of 30,000. Abell ran the Sun until his death.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d A.S. Abell. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved November 22, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Abell, Arunah Shepherdson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Abell, AS; Abell, Arunah Shepardson |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American editor and newspaper publisher |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 10, 1806 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | East Providence , Rhode Island |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 19, 1888 |
| Place of death | Baltimore , Maryland |