HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. (February 5, 1926 – September 29, 2012) was an American publisher and a businessman. Born into a prominent media and publishing family, Sulzberger became publisher of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' in 1963 and chairman of the board of
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
in 1973. Sulzberger relinquished to his son,
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. Arthur Ochs "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist. Sulzberger was the chairman of The New York Times Company from 1997 to 2020, and the publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1992 to 2018. Early life and ...
, the office of publisher in 1992, and chairman of the board in 1997.


Early life and education

Sulzberger was born to a Jewish family on February 5, 1926, in New York City, the son of
Arthur Hays Sulzberger Arthur Hays Sulzberger (September 12, 1891December 11, 1968) was the publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1935 to 1961. During that time, daily circulation rose from 465,000 to 713,000 and Sunday circulation from 745,000 to 1.4 million; the st ...
and Iphigene Bertha Ochs (daughter of Adolph Ochs, the former publisher and owner of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and the ''
Chattanooga Times The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's maj ...
'' and granddaughter of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise).American Jewish Archives: "A Finding Aid to the Isaac Mayer Wise Papers. 1838–1931 – Manuscript Collection No. 436"
retrieved September 27, 2015
Sulzberger graduated from the Loomis Institute and then enlisted into the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, serving from 1944 to 1946, in the Pacific Theater. He earned a B.A. degree in English and history in 1951 at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. As student, he roomed with composer
Philip Springer Philip Springer (born May 12, 1926) is an American composer, best known for co-writing the classic Christmas song "Santa Baby". In a musical career spanning over 70 years, he is credited in 540 musical pieces, including composing songs for numero ...
in
John Jay Hall John Jay Hall is a 15-story building located on the southeastern extremity of the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City, on the northwestern corner of 114th St. and Amsterdam Avenue. Named for Founding Father, ''The ...
. As a member of the
Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...
he was recalled to active duty during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Following completion of
officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
, he saw duty in
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and then in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, before being inactivated.


Publisher of ''The New York Times''

Sulzberger became publisher of ''The New York Times'' in 1963, after the death of his sister Marian's husband,
Orvil Dryfoos Orvil Eugene Dryfoos (November 8, 1912 – May 25, 1963) was the publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1961 to his death. He entered ''The Times'' family via his marriage to Marian Sulzberger, daughter of then-publisher Arthur Hays Sulzberger ...
, who had been publisher for less than two years. Sulzberger was 37 at the time, the youngest publisher in ''Times'' history. Prior to Dryfoos, Sulzberger's father,
Arthur Hays Sulzberger Arthur Hays Sulzberger (September 12, 1891December 11, 1968) was the publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1935 to 1961. During that time, daily circulation rose from 465,000 to 713,000 and Sunday circulation from 745,000 to 1.4 million; the st ...
, and maternal grandfather, Adolph Ochs, were the publishers, and also the chairs of the board of
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
. In the 1960s Sulzberger built a large news-gathering staff at ''The Times''. He was its publisher when the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for publishing
The Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 ...
. He was elected a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1988. His son Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. succeeded him as the newspaper's publisher in 1992. Sulzberger remained chairman of
The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
until October 1997.


Philanthropy

In addition to his work at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', he also served as trustee from 1968 as well as chairman of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
from 1987 to 1998. He was elected as a life trustee of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1967.


Personal life and death

Sulzberger was married three times. In 1948, he married Barbara Winslow Grant (of mostly Scottish and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
heritage) in a civil ceremony at her parents' home in Purchase, New York. They had two children:
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. Arthur Ochs "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. (born September 22, 1951) is an American journalist. Sulzberger was the chairman of The New York Times Company from 1997 to 2020, and the publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1992 to 2018. Early life and ...
; and Karen Alden Sulzberger (married to author
Eric Lax Eric Lax is an American author who has written books on modern medicine, four books on Woody Allen including a biography, and a personal memoir ''Faith: Interrupted'' about his loss of Christian faith. Biography Lax was raised in an Episcopalian ...
); before divorcing in 1956. In December 1956, he married Carol Fox Fuhrman; they had one daughter, Cynthia Fox Sulzberger Green, before his wife died in 1995. He also adopted Fox's daughter from a previous marriage, Cathy Sulzberger (married to Joseph George Perpich,). In 1996, he married Allison Stacey Cowles, widow of William H. Cowles, 3rd (died 1992), who was part of the Cowles family that owns ''
The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...
'' of
Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
. In 2005, the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) honored Sulzberger with the
Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, whi ...
Lifetime Achievement Award. Sulzberger dedicated the Wellesley College pub, aptly named "Punch's Alley", in honor of his wife, Allison, a class of 1955 Wellesley alum. Sulzberger died of a brain hemorrhage at his home on September 29, 2012. He was 86.


Publication of the Pentagon Papers

On June 13, 1971, ''The New York Times'' published the first of seven articles on the ''
Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 ...
''. According to
Floyd Abrams Floyd Abrams (born in July 9, 1936) is an American attorney at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. He is an expert on constitutional law and has argued in 13 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Abrams represented ''The New York Times'' ...
, Sulzberger "made the call to accept the risks rather than those of silence", adding that "In retrospect, the decision may seem obvious, but it was by no means an easy one at the time, and it remains one for which Sulzberger deserves enormous credit."
Floyd Abrams Floyd Abrams (born in July 9, 1936) is an American attorney at Cahill Gordon & Reindel. He is an expert on constitutional law and has argued in 13 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Abrams represented ''The New York Times'' ...
, '' Speaking Freely'', published by
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...
(2005), Page 12.


References


Sources

* ''Behind the Times: Inside the New New York Times'', by Edwin Diamond. Villard Books. * ''The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind The New York Times,'' by Alex S. Jones, Susan E. Tifft. Back Bay Books (2000), .


External links


Oral history interview with Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 1998 Aug. 5- Oct. 14
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Jewish American military personnel United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American newspaper publishers (people) American people of German-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Sulzberger family The New York Times corporate staff The New York Times publishers United States Marine Corps officers Loomis Chaffee School alumni 21st-century American Jews