- Henry Watterson
-
Henry Watterson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 5th districtIn office
August 12, 1876 – March 3, 1877Preceded by Edward Y. Parsons Succeeded by Albert S. Willis Personal details Born February 16, 1840
Washington, D.C.Died December 22, 1921 (aged 81)
Jacksonville, FloridaNationality American Political party Democratic Spouse(s) Rebecca Ewing Religion Methodist Episcopal Signature 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.[citation needed] 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 under the pen name "Marse Henry". 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).
The Interstate 264 beltway around Louisville was named after him.
Contents
Enduring quote
"Things have come to a hell of a pass, when a man can't whip his own jackass." (i.e. Democratic Party)[1]
Bibliography
- ^ Joseph F. Wall (1956) Henry Watterson, Reconstructed Rebel, New York, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.
- Encyclopedia of Kentucky. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. pp. 189–192. ISBN 0403099811.
- Daniel S. Margolies. Henry Watterson And the New South: The Politics of Empire, Free Trade, And Globalization (2006)
See also
- History of Louisville, Kentucky
- List of famous Louisvillians
External links
- McAfee, John J. (1886). Kentucky politicians : sketches of representative Corncrackers and other miscellany. Louisville, Kentucky: Press of the Courier-Journal job printing company. pp. 164–167. http://books.google.com/books?id=wPITAAAAYAAJ. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- Works by Henry Watterson at Project Gutenberg
- Marse Henry: An Autobiography. Volume I. New York: George H. Doran Company, c1919.
- Marse Henry: An Autobiography. Volume II. New York: George H. Doran Company, c1919.
United States House of Representatives Preceded by
Edward Y. ParsonsU.S. Congressman, Kentucky 5th District
1876 - 1877Succeeded by
Albert S. WillisCategories:- 1840 births
- 1921 deaths
- People from Washington, D.C.
- 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
- American newspaper publishers (people)
- History of Louisville, Kentucky
- Kentucky Democrats
- Writers from Kentucky
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky
- People from Louisville, Kentucky
- Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
- Kentucky Liberal Republicans
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.