John Russell Young (November 20, 1840 – January 17, 1899) was an American journalist, author, diplomat, and the seventh

Librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

from 1897 to 1899. He was invited by Ulysses S. Grant to accompany him on a world tour for purposes of recording the two-year journey, which he published in a two-volume work.

Biography

Young was born in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, but as a young child his family emigrated to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He entered the newspaper business as a proofreader at age 15. As a reporter for the ''

Philadelphia Press ''The Philadelphia Press'' (or ''The Press'') is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857, to October 1, 1920. The paper was founded by John Weiss Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 u ...

'', he distinguished himself with his coverage of the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

. By 1862 he was managing editor of the ''Press'' and another newspaper. In 1865 he moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he became a close friend of

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

and helped to distribute ''

Progress and Poverty ''Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy'' is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George. It is a treatise on the questions of why pover ...

''. He began writing for

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the '' New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York ...

's ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...

'' and became managing editor of that paper. He also began working for the government, undertaking missions to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

for the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

and the

US Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

. In 1872, he joined the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'' and reported for them from Europe. upJohn Russell Young
Illustrated Portrait ''1888'' Young was invited to accompany President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

on Grant's famous 1877-1879 world tour, chronicled in Young's book ''Around the World with General Grant''. Young impressed Grant, especially in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

where Young struck up a friendship with

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

. Grant persuaded President Chester A. Arthur to appoint Young minister to China in 1882. In this position he distinguished himself by mediating and settling disputes between the US and China and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and China. Unlike many other diplomats, he opposed the policy of removing Korea from Chinese suzerainty. In 1885 he resumed working for the ''Herald'' in Europe. In 1890 he returned to Philadelphia. In 1897 President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

appointed him Librarian of Congress, the first librarian confirmed by Congress. During his tenure, the library began moving from its original home in the

US Capitol Building The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill at ...

to its own structure, an accomplishment largely the responsibility of his predecessor,

Ainsworth Rand Spofford Ainsworth Rand Spofford (September 12, 1825 – August 11, 1908) was an American journalist, prolific writer and the sixth Librarian of Congress. He served as librarian from 1864 to 1897 under the administration of ten presidents. A great admir ...

. Spofford served as Chief Assistant Librarian under Young. Young held the post of librarian until his death. He died in Washington, D.C. on January 17, 1899 and is interred at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His brother was Congressman James Rankin Young. His son was Brig. Gen. Gordon Russell Young, who was Engineer Commission of the District of Columbia from 1945-1951 and a recipient of the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

and the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight u ...

Works (partial list)

* "New Life in China" ''The North American Review'', vol. 153 (1891) pp. 420-431. * "The Chinese Question Again" ''The North American Review'', vol. 154 (1892) pp. 596-602.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, John Russell 19th-century Irish people 1840 births 1899 deaths People from County Tyrone 19th-century American diplomats American non-fiction writers Burials at Mount Moriah Cemetery (Philadelphia) Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Librarians of Congress 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century male writers Ambassadors of the United States to China

Biography

See also

Works (partial list)

References

External links