Harrison Gray Otis (February 10, 1837 – July 30, 1917) was a Union Army officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

who later became president and general manager of the

Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

, then the publisher of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''.

Biography

Early life and education

Otis was born near

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in Appalachian Ohio, southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum River, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia ...

, on February 10, 1837, the son of Stephen and Sally (Dyar) Otis. His father was from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and his mother, a native of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada, came to Ohio from

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 ...

, Massachusetts, with her family. The young Otis received schooling until he was fourteen, when he became a printer's

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

at the ''Noble County Courier'' in Ohio.

Career

Otis was a delegate from

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

that nominated

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

for president in 1860.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the

in 1861, he left his job as a compositor in the office of the '' Louisville Journal'' to volunteer as a private for the Union army. Otis enlisted as a Sergeant in Kentucky on June 25, 1861, in Company I of the 12th Ohio Infantry Regiment. He fought with the 12th at the Battle of Scary Creek, Battle of Carnifex Ferry,

Battle of South Mountain The Battle of South Mountain, known in several early Southern United States, Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap, was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles ...

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

, Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, and the Battle of Lynchburg. On July 2, 1864, the veterans of the 12th Ohio were transferred to the 23rd Ohio Infantry, and with Company H, Otis fought at the Second Battle of Kernstown where he was wounded. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant on March 1, 1862, 2nd Lieutenant on September 30, 1862, 1st Lieutenant on March 21, 1863, Captain on July 1, 1864, and Lieutenant-Colonel on March 13, 1865. Otis was mustered out of the Army on July 26, 1865. He was wounded twice in battle, was "twice breveted for gallant and meritorious conduct" and was promoted seven times.

Journalism

After the war, Otis was Official Reporter of the Ohio House of Representatives, then moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a government official, correspondent and editor. In 1876, he and his family moved to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, which had a population then of about 3,000, and he purchased a local newspaper, the '' Santa Barbara Press'', from

William Welles Hollister William Welles Hollister (1818–1886) was a native of Ohio who came west in the 1850s and became a wealthy rancher and entrepreneur in California. Biography Ancestors and early life William Welles Hollister, was born on Jan. 12, 1818 near Han ...

, effective March 11 of that year. He gave up journalism temporarily in 1879 when he was offered the post of chief government agent or special treasury agent of the Northern Seal Islands, now known as the Pribilof Islands, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the newly acquired territory of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He left that position in 1881 to return to Santa Barbara. Otis was editing his newspaper there when he went to Los Angelesa larger city with a population of some 12,500and agreed with the firm of Yarnell, Caystile & Mathes to take over editorial responsibilities at the ''Los Angeles Daily Times'', now the ''Los Angeles Times''. Beginning August 1, 1882, he was to "have the editorial conduct of the ''Daily Times'' and ''Weekly Mirror''," according to an announcement in the ''Times''. Later the company was named Times-Mirror, and on April 6, 1886, it was reorganized, with Albert McFarland and W.A. Spalding as owners and Otis as president and general manager. That was Otis's official title at the time of his death in 1917. The ''Times'' story about his demise noted that the Times-Mirror Company was "publishers of the ''Los Angeles Daily Times.''" The article called Otis the "principal owner" of the newspaper but never referred to him as publisher. Eleven years earlier, however the Associated Press had called him "publisher of the ''Los Angeles Times''." Otis was known for his

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

political views, which were reflected in the paper. His home was one of three buildings that were targeted in the 1910 ''Los Angeles Times'' bombing. During his time as publisher of the Times Otis is known for coining the phrase "You are either with me, or against me." Harrison Gray Otis statue

When the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

broke out in 1898, Otis asked President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

for an appointment as Assistant Secretary of War. But

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Russell A. Alger did not want the conservative Otis serving under him. Otis thereupon again volunteered for the Army and was appointed brigadier general of volunteers. He served in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He did not see any action against the Spanish, but commanded the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. His support for his adopted city was instrumental in its growth. He was a member of a group of investors who bought land in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

based on inside knowledge that the

Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

would soon irrigate it. Otis and his son-in-law Harry Chandler and others formed the Colorado River Land Company, which bought land in the Mexicali Valley of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

at the turn of the twentieth century when Mexico's President

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

encouraged foreign investment to develop the country. The company weathered the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

(1910–20), but the rich agricultural land held in foreign hands was expropriated by the Mexican government during its postrevolutionary land reform. On December 23, 1916, General Harrison Gray Otis donated his spacious Wilshire Boulevard home across the street from MacArthur Park, known as the Bivouac, to Los Angeles County to be used "continuously and perpetually for the Arts and advancement of the Arts." The Otis Art Institute of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art eventually became

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aero ...

. The home was torn down in the 1950s, but the school built new buildings and occupied the space until 1997. It is now the site of a public elementary school.

Personal life

Otis married Eliza Ann Wetherby in Lowell, Ohio, on September 11, 1859, and they had three daughters, Lillian Otis McPherson, Marian Otis Chandler, who was secretary of the ''Times-Mirror'', and Mabel Otis Booth.

Death

Otis died on July 30, 1917, at the home of his son-in-law, Harry Chandler, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

References

External links

PBS biography

Otis biography in the Bancroft Library

General Harrison Gray Otis Statue
Los Angeles, California
Harrison Gray Otis Album of California Scenes, around 1890–1910, in the Bancroft Library

– Wilshire Blvd. When It Was Residential (for pictures of his home) {{DEFAULTSORT:Otis, Harrison Gray 1837 births 1917 deaths 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Businesspeople from Los Angeles California Republicans History of Los Angeles Kentucky Republicans Los Angeles Times people Otis family People from Marietta, Ohio People from Medina County, Ohio Union army soldiers