BENNETT, James Gordon, American journalist: b. New Mill, Keith, Scotland, 1 Sept. 1795; d. New York, 1 June 1872. He was of French extraction. He entered a Catholic seminary at Aberdeen with a view to entering the priesthood and after a three years' course emigrated to. America, arriving at Halifax, N. S., in 1819, where he taught booldceeping. Meeting with little success he removed to Bos ton and for three years was there employed as proofreader. We next find him in New York writing for various newspapers after which he was engaged on the Charleston, S. C., Courier as translator of articles from. Latin American journals. He was soon back in New York, there established a commercial school and also did some work for the newspapers. In 1827 he became Washington correspondent of the New York Enquirer in which capacity he rnade a reputation for himself by his reports of the proceedings in Congress. In 1829 the Courier and Enquirer were. consolidated and Bennett became associate editor and a recog nized leader in politics. He withdrew from his editorial position in 1832, went to Phila delphia, and there acquired an interest in the Pennsylvanian, of which he became editor. Be ing of an independent nature and refusing to be the tool of the politicians his position made him many enemies and finally led to his with drawal from Philadelphia. He now embarked on his real life work, investing his savings (about $500) and his experience in establish ing a small four-page journal, which he sold for a cent a copy and called it the New York Herald. He was its sole editor, reporter arid 'contributor. The office was in a cellar in Wall street and two printers shared in the profits of the enterprise. Mr. Bennett brought new views into the journalistic field, his new .paper
was free of all party control, the Acquisition of news from every quarter of the globe be came its chief aim; it exposed fraud tn every guise, it disseminated facts, not opinions, and lauded everything calculated to benefit and ele vate mankind in general. On 13 June 1835 it printed an article on the state of the money market, which gained wide attention and which, despite considerable opposition, became a per manent feature of the Herald and of every other newspaper. Toward the end of the same year Mr. Bennett originated the reporting in detail of public occurrences. He reported ser mons and the proceedings of public meetings and introduced the practice of interviewing the chief actors in any great occurrence. He first used the telegraph for reporting and originated the system of distribution by carriers. By means of these and other novel features the Herald increased its circulation rapidly and within a few years was the most valuable news paper property in the country. Mr. Bennett's strong personality was impressed upon the paper by his directing every detail of manage ment and examining every item of news as well as the general moulding of public opinion. In 1867 James Parton wrote that °his paper is generally read and its proprietor universally dis approved?' Bennett was often accused of utter lack of conviction, chiefly, perhaps, because of his reiterated remark ((We have never been in a minority, and we never shall be?' Consult Hudson, Frederic, 'Journalism in the United States from 1690 to 1872) (New York 1873) and Parton, (Famous Americans of Recent Times' (Boston 1867).