Herman Ridder (March 5, 1851 – November 1, 1915) was an American newspaper publisher and editor.
Biography
Ridder was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, of German Catholic parents. Because of his parents' financial difficulties, Ridder had to leave school at age 11.
[Barber, Marian J]
"Herman Ridder."
In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified September 30, 2015. He had little education, and was an insurance salesman.
In 1878 he established the ''Katholisches Volksblatt'', and married Mary C. Amend in 1880. They had three children:
Victor F. Ridder,
Bernard H. Ridder, and
Joseph E. Ridder, all of whom worked in the family newspaper. He founded the ''Catholic News'' in 1886, later continued by his brother Henry Ridder. In 1890 he became trustee and manager, and in 1907 president of the ''
New Yorker Staats-Zeitung'', then the largest and most influential daily paper printed in the German language in the United States.
During the visit of
Prince Henry of Prussia in February 1903, Ridder arranged a dinner in Henry's honor. In 1908 he was appointed treasurer of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, where he insisted on campaign finance transparency, then declined his re-appointment in 1912.
He was an official of several important financial institutions. He was a
presidential elector in
1912.
In 1917, after his death, the U.S. declared war on Germany. In 1918
George Sylvester Viereck told federal officials that in 1915 Ridder planned a to purchase a newspaper on behalf of propaganda for the German government. Ridder's son said he was very sick at the time and did no such planning. There was no such purchase.
He died insolvent, having lost his means with the failure of the International Typesetting Machine Company at the start of World War I. Friends and supporters of Ridder assumed the debts of his publishing enterprise, and the ''Staats-Zeitung'' continued under the joint management of his sons, Bernard H. Ridder and
Victor F. Ridder, and later his grandson
Robert Ridder. His company, Ridder Publications, Inc., later merged with Knight Newspapers, Inc. in 1974, and operated under the name
Knight Ridder until 2006, when the company was purchased by
McClatchy.
Herman Ridder Junior High School in
The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
was named in his honor in 1931.
Notes
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References
External links
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Testimonials of appreciation to Herman Ridder, acting president and Henry W. Sackett, secretary of the Hudson-Fulton celebration commission, March, 1910Publisher: The De Vinne press, New York, 1910
Hermann Ridder Junior High School in New York Bronx
- New Yorker Staats-Zeitung
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridder, Herman
1851 births
1915 deaths
American newspaper founders
Publishers (people) of German-language newspapers in the United States
American editors
American people of German descent
American writers in German
Businesspeople from New York City
Ridder family
19th-century American businesspeople
1912 United States presidential electors
Democratic National Committee treasurers