George Jones

Notable work and positions

The New York Times (New-York Daily Times) - Co-founder and First Publisher

Biography

George Jones (1811-1891) was an American publisher who co-founded The New York Times. Born in Poultney, Vermont, he worked in dry goods and later banking in Troy and Albany, New York, and met Henry Jarvis Raymond while both worked at the New-York Tribune under Horace Greeley. In 1851, Jones and Raymond, with the help of business partner Edward B. Wesley, raised the capital to launch the New-York Daily Times, which first published on September 18, 1851; Jones served as publisher and responsible manager, Raymond as editor, and Wesley as business manager. The paper adopted the name The New York Times in 1857. Upon Raymond's death in June 1869, Jones took over full direction of the paper, including its editorial operations. In 1870 and 1871, under Jones's leadership, the Times published a series of exposes based on the account books of the New York City comptroller's office that exposed corruption by the Tweed Ring, the Tammany Hall political machine led by William 'Boss' Tweed; Jones refused a reported $5 million bribe to suppress the story. Jones led the paper until his death in 1891, after which it faced financial difficulties before being acquired by Adolph S. Ochs in 1896.

Career highlights

• Co-founded The New York Times 1851, with Henry Jarvis Raymond and Edward B. Wesley, as the New-York Daily Times.
• Tweed Ring exposes 1870-1871 · Published documentary evidence of municipal corruption that led to the downfall of Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed.
• Publisher and later editorial leader Led the paper from its founding until his death in 1891.