The New Student's Reference Work/Hearst, William Randolph

Hearst, William Randolph, was born in San Francisco, April 29, 1863. He studied at Harvard, but did not graduate. In 1886 he gained possession of The Examiner of San Francisco, a paper that then was on
WILLIAM R. HEARST the verge of failure, and quickly made it a financial success and a widely read newspaper. In 1895 he became proprietor of The Journal (now The American) and The Evening Journal, of New York City. He later established The Chicago American and The Examiner, and now has a chain of eight daily newspapers extending from the Pacific coast to New England. He represented the 11th New York Congressional district in the 58th and 59th Congresses. In 1895 he was nominated for the mayoralty of New York, but was defeated. In 1896 he was nominated by the Independence League for governor of New York, and his candidacy was endorsed by the Democratic party, but he failed of election. Under his leadership, in 1908, a convention of the Independence League was held in Chicago, and Thomas L. Hisgen was nominated as its candidate for the presidency.