William Randolph Hearst

@Newspaper Baron, Timeline and Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ William Randolph Hearst was an American newspaper publisher California American Harvard University Business People Media Personalities Publishers Taurus Celebrities William Randolph Hearst was one of the most successful newspaper barons in the history of American journalism. Born into a wealthy family, Hearst used his family wealth to build a massive media empire, which went on to become the nation’s largest newspaper chain. His methods of publishing made a considerable impact in American journalism and led to the formation of what came to be known as ‘yellow journalism’- a method of sensationalising news stories. He began his career as a publisher with the 'The San Francisco Examiner', which his father had acquired previously. He later acquired 'The New York Journal'. He eventually owned a chain of more than 30 newspapers across cities in the U.S. He also had a brief stint in politics and served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representative from New York's 11th district. However, he ran unsuccessfully for the mayor of New York City and the governor of New York. Through his media empire, he exercised enormous political influence and created public opinion. The main character in the film, ‘Citizen Cane’ was based on his life.

Personal Details

Birthday: April 29, 1863 Died on: August 14, 1951 Nationality: American Famous: Newspaper Baron, Harvard University, Business People, Media Personalities, Publishers City/State: California Spouses: Millicent Veronica Willson Childrens: David Whitmire Hearst, George Randolph Hearst, John Randolph Hearst, Patricia Van Cleve Lake, Randolph Apperson Hearst, William Randolph Hearst Jr. Information Detail Birthday April 29, 1863 Died on August 14, 1951 Nationality American Famous Newspaper Baron, Harvard University, Business People, Media Personalities, Publishers City/State California Spouses Millicent Veronica Willson Childrens David Whitmire Hearst, George Randolph Hearst, John Randolph Hearst, Patricia Van Cleve Lake, Randolph Apperson Hearst, William Randolph Hearst Jr. Universities Harvard University Harvard University Harvard College Notable Alumnis Harvard University Founder / Co-Founder New York Daily Mirror Universal News and International News Service Birth Place San Francisco Gender Male Father George Hearst Mother Phoebe Apperson Sun Sign Taurus Born in San Francisco Famous as Newspaper Baron Died at Age 88

San Francisco

William Randolph Hearst born at Unsplash Birth Place

On April 27, 1903, he married Millicent Willson, who was a 21-year-old chorus girl in New York City. The couple had five sons. Unsplash Personal Life

Meanwhile, around 1917, he began a romantic relationship with Marion Davies. After two years, the two began living together. Unsplash Personal Life

In 1920, Millicent Willson parted ways with him, but not legally. Thus, she legally remained his wife until his death. Unsplash Personal Life

William Randolph Hearst was born on April 19, 1863, San Francisco to George Hearst and Phoebe Apperson Hearst. His father was a millionaire; he was a mining engineer and goldmine owner. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

William was educated in private schools. His enormous family wealth enabled him to go on European holidays. In 1885, he took admission in the Harvard College, where he edited the 'Harvard Lampoon'. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He was later expelled from Harvard College due to his misconduct. He allegedly organised beer parties, funding them in the Harvard Square. He also reportedly misbehaved with his professors. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1887, he presided over the management of the 'San Francisco Examiner', a paper that his father had bought previously. He gave the paper the motto, ‘Monarch of the Dailies' and employed skilled writers of that time. Unsplash Career

In 1895, with the financial help from his mother, he purchased the 'New York Morning Journal', which at the time of the purchase was faring very badly in the market. He hired accomplished writers for the paper. Unsplash Career

The main rival of the 'New York Morning Journal' was the 'New York World', which attracted its readers with sensational headlines and dramatic news stories, cartoons and a series of crime and human interest stories. Unsplash Career

In order to improve sales, he followed same techniques which the 'New York World' was using. Soon his paper’s readership increased manifolds and the 'New York World' forced to reduce its price to attract readers. Unsplash Career

He further played a spoilsport in the ‘New York World’ success story by attracting employees, offering them higher salaries. By 1897, his 'New York Morning Journal' was doing better than its rival, 'New York World'. Unsplash Career

The 1941 Orson Welles's film, 'Citizen Kane' was loosely based on the rise and fall of this American media stalwart. Unsplash Trivia

Information	Detail
Birthday	April 29, 1863
Died on	August 14, 1951
Nationality	American
Famous	Newspaper Baron, Harvard University, Business People, Media Personalities, Publishers
City/State	California
Spouses	Millicent Veronica Willson
Childrens	David Whitmire Hearst, George Randolph Hearst, John Randolph Hearst, Patricia Van Cleve Lake, Randolph Apperson Hearst, William Randolph Hearst Jr.
Universities	Harvard University Harvard University Harvard College
Notable Alumnis	Harvard University
Founder / Co-Founder	New York Daily Mirror Universal News and International News Service
Birth Place	San Francisco
Gender	Male
Father	George Hearst
Mother	Phoebe Apperson
Sun Sign	Taurus
Born in	San Francisco
Famous as	Newspaper Baron
Died at Age	88

William Randolph Hearst

American

Apr 29, 1863

Biography

Personal Details

San Francisco