Notable people · Business · Media
E. W. Scripps
Illinois-born newspaper publisher who founded the Cleveland Penny Press (later the Cleveland Press) in 1878 and built a national newspaper and wire-service business. He had a home in West Chester, Butler County, Ohio, before settling in San Diego; Ohio University's journalism school bears his name.
At a glance
- Born
- 1854-06-18
- Died
- 1926-03-12
- Known as
- Business, Media
- Organizations
- Scripps newspapers
Life story
Edward Willis Scripps was born in Rushville, Illinois, in 1854 and began as an office boy at the Detroit News with his half-brother James.
In 1878 he founded The Penny Press in Cleveland, later the Cleveland Press, the start of an empire of about 25 newspapers. In 1907 he created United Press Associations to compete with the Associated Press, which he called his greatest service.
He moved to San Diego in 1898 and built a winter home covering today's Scripps Ranch and Miramar. With his half-sister Ellen he co-founded Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1903) and he started Science Service in 1921.
He died aboard his yacht Ohio off Liberia in 1926.
Timeline
- 1854-06-18: Born in Rushville, Illinois (Rushville, IL) source
- 1878: Founds The Penny Press (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1898: Moves to San Diego (San Diego, CA) source
- 1903: Co-founds Scripps Institution of Oceanography (La Jolla, CA) source
- 1907: Creates United Press Associations (New York, NY) source
- 1921: Founds Science Service (Washington, DC) source
- 1926-03-12: Dies aboard yacht Ohio, Monrovia Bay (Liberia) source
What E. is known for
- Founded The Penny Press (later Cleveland Press), 1878
- Founder of the United Press news service; Scripps newspaper chain
- Cleveland Press (1878)
- United Press Associations (1907)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1903)
- Science Service (1921)
Honors and things named for them
- Ohio University's E. W. Scripps School of Journalism named for him (per record)
Family
- half-brother: James Scripps
- half-sister: Ellen Scripps
Ohio places
Where E. W. Scripps was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
- Lived: West Chester, Butler County ZIP 45069 · Butler County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- E. W. Scripps (businessman) (Wikipedia, pointer) dates, Cleveland Penny Press 1878, West Chester OH home, Ohio University school