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''The Boston Post'' was a daily
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
for over a hundred years before its final shutdown in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals. Edwin Grozier bought the paper in 1891. Within two decades, he had built it into easily the largest paper in Boston and New England. Grozier suffered a total physical breakdown in 1920, and turned over day-to-day control of the ''Post'' to his son,
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
. Upon Edwin's death in 1924, Richard inherited the paper. Under the younger Grozier, ''The Boston Post'' grew into one of the largest newspapers in the country. At its height in the 1930s, it had a circulation of well over a million readers. At the same time, Richard Grozier suffered an emotional breakdown from the death of his wife in childbirth from which he never recovered. Throughout the 1940s, facing increasing competition from the Hearst-run papers in Boston and
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
and from
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
news, the paper began a decline from which it never recovered. When it ceased publishing in October 1956, its daily circulation was 230,000.


Former contributors

*
Olin Downes Edwin Olin Downes, better known as Olin Downes (January 27, 1886 – August 22, 1955), was an American music critic, known as "Sibelius's Apostle" for his championship of the music of Jean Sibelius. As critic of ''The New York Times'', he ex ...
, music critic. * Richard Frothingham Jr., a Massachusetts historian, journalist, and politician who was a proprietor and managing editor of ''The Boston Post''. *
Frederick E. Goodrich Frederick Elizur Goodrich (January 15, 1843 – January 12, 1925) was an American journalist and political figure who worked for ''The Boston Post'' for 54 years. Early life Goodrich was born in Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford on January 15, 1843 ...
, journalist and political figure who worked for the ''Post'' for 54 years, including a five years as editor-in-chief. *
Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...
, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator; correspondent for ''The Boston Post'' in 1948, 1951 * Bernard G Richards * Kenneth Roberts * Olga Van Slyke Owens Huckins, literary editor, 1941–1954. Huckins letter to
Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) are credited with advancing mari ...
inspired the book ''
Silent Spring ''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT, a pesticide used by soldiers during World War II. Carson acc ...
''. *
Newton Newkirk Clyde C. Newkirk (August 29, 1870 - May 15, 1938), who published under the pseudonym, Newton "Newt" Newkirk was an American humorist. He produced a comic strip and various humorous publications. Newkirk was hired by the '' Boston Post'' in 1901. H ...
was hired by the Post in 1901 and produced the ''Bingfield Bugleville'' comic strip that lent its name to
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...


"Sunday Magazine" supplement

From 1904 through 1916, "Sunday Magazine" was a regular syndicated supplement to Sunday editions of newspapers in various cities across the United States, including ''The Boston Post'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''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 ...
'', ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', '' St. Louis Republic'', ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'', and ''
Minneapolis Journal ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the seventh-largest in the United States by circula ...
''.To see 1912 covers o
''Sunday Magazine''
in various cities, refer to the gallery of images at
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
(San Francisco, California). Further searches of other years from 1904 through 1916 at the same site provide many other cover examples of this supplement. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
The supplement in Boston was initially titled "Sunday Magazine of the Boston Sunday Post"; later, as "Boston Sunday Post Sunday Magazine". The regular 20-page periodical has a magazine-like format that is essentially identical to the versions that accompanied other major newspapers in the early 1900s, featuring the same cover illustration, articles, short stories, serials, and advertisements.


Pulitzer Prizes

*
1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...
Meritorious Public Service. ''The Boston Post'' was awarded the Pulitzer prize for its investigation and exposure of
Charles Ponzi Charles Ponzi (; ; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was an Italians, Italian charlatan and Scam, con artist who operated in the United States and Canada. His Pseudonym, aliases included ''C ...
's financial fraud. Ponzi was first exposed by the investigative work directed by Richard Grozier, then acting publisher, and Edward Dunn, long time city editor, after complaints by Bostonians that the returns Ponzi offered were "too good to be true". It was the first time that a Boston paper had won a Pulitzer, and was the last Pulitzer for public service awarded to a Boston paper until the ''Globe'' won it in 2003.


''Boston Post'' Cane tradition

In 1909, under the ownership of Edwin Grozier, ''The Boston Post'' engaged in its most famous publicity stunt. The paper had 700 ornate, ebony-shafted, gold-capped canes made and contacted the
selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common numb ...
in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island towns. The ''Boston Post'' Canes were given to the selectmen with the request that the canes be presented in a ceremony to the town's oldest living man. The custom was expanded to include a community's oldest women in 1930. More than 500 towns in New England still carry on the ''Boston Post'' Cane tradition with the original canes they were awarded in 1909.


Usage

According to H. W. Fowler, the first recorded instance of the term O. K. was made in the ''Boston Morning Post'' of 1839.H W Fowler, ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (Oxford 1965) p. 413


See also

* ''
Boston Daily Advertiser The ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' (est. March 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston. History The ''Advertiser'' was established in early March 1813. It was published by William W. Clapp ...
'' * ''
Boston Evening Transcript The ''Boston Evening Transcript'' was a daily afternoon newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, published for over a century from July 24, 1830, to April 30, 1941. History Founding ''The Transcript'' was founded in 1830 by Henry Dutton and James We ...
'' * ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' * ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'' * ''
The Boston Journal ''The Boston Journal'' was a daily newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1833 until October 1917 when it was merged with the ''Boston Herald''. The paper was originally an evening paper called the ''Evening Mercantile Journal''. Wh ...
'' * ''
The Boston Record ''The Boston Record'' was founded on September 3, 1884, by ''The Boston Daily Advertiser'' as an evening campaign newspaper. ''The Record'' was so popular that it was made a permanent publication. It was the first tabloid-format newspaper in ...
''


Image gallery

Image:Boston Post Sunday Magazine.jpg, "Sunday Magazine of the Boston Sunday Post" (September 18, 1910) Image:The Boston Post Building Milk Street.png, The Boston Post Building, 15–17 Milk Street,
Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
Image:Sunday Boston Post Magazine July 1914.jpg, "Boston Sunday Post Sunday Magazine" (July 5, 1914)


References


External links


"The Boston Post Cane" Information Center.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston Post, The Newspapers established in 1831 Publications disestablished in 1956 Pulitzer Prize–winning newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Massachusetts Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Newspapers published in Boston 1831 establishments in Massachusetts 1956 disestablishments in Massachusetts Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winners