Key dates in the history of The Washington Post
Aug 5, 2013, 10:47 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – Key dates in the history of The Washington Post:
_ 1877: The newspaper is founded by Democrat Stilton Hutchins and published its first edition on Dec. 6, with an initial circulation of 10,000.
_ 1889: Hutchins sells to Republican Cabinet member Frank Hatton and former Democratic Congressman Beriah Wilkins.
_ 1905: John R. McLean, owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, purchases the paper, which becomes loyal to the Democratic Party.
_ 1916: McLean dies. His son, Edward, becomes publisher and switches the paper’s allegiance to the Republican Party. Circulation and advertising drops, and the paper falls into receivership.
_ 1933: The Post is purchased at a bankruptcy auction by Eugene Meyer, a California-born financier and a member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors. Under Meyer, the paper’s reputation improves, and circulation triples to 162,000 by 1943.
_ 1946: Meyer’s son-in-law, Philip L. Graham, succeeds him as publisher.
_ 1947: The Washington Post Co. incorporates, with Graham as CEO.
_ 1954: The Post purchases its last morning rival, the Washington Times-Herald, increasing circulation to 380,000. The paper is known as The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973.
_ 1961: The Washington Post Co. purchases Newsweek magazine.
_ 1963: Philip Graham commits suicide at his farm in Virginia. His widow, Meyer’s daughter, Katharine Graham, succeeds him as publisher.
_ 1971: The Washington Post Co. goes public, selling stock on the New York Stock Exchange at $26 per share.
_ 1972: The Post begins reporting on a break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s offices at Washington’s Watergate hotel. The ensuing scandal would lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
_ 1979: Katharine Graham’s son, Donald Graham, becomes publisher.
_ 1984: The Washington Post Co. purchases Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Centers Limited, which would grow into a leading test-preparation company.
_ 2000: Boisfeuillet Jones Jr. becomes publisher and CEO of The Post. Donald Graham becomes chairman.
_ 2001: Katharine Graham dies at age 84.
_ 2008: Katharine Weymouth, Katharine Graham’s granddaughter, is named publisher and CEO of The Post.
_ 2013: The Post is sold to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
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