James Keeley (October 14, 1867 – June 7, 1934) was an Irish journalist, newspaper editor and publisher during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who served as managing editor of the ''

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 ...

'' from 1898 to 1914. Keeley was born in London, England. His mother was a teacher who had been deserted by her

Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...

husband. At age 16, he emigrated alone to the United States, settling in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. His career in the newspaper business began as a correspondent for the ''

Kansas City Times The ''Kansas City Times'' was a morning newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, published from 1867 to 1990. The morning ''Kansas City Times'', under ownership of the afternoon '' Kansas City Star'', won two Pulitzer Prizes and was bigger than its ...

'', he then worked as a reporter and city editor for newspapers in Memphis and

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. By the late 1880s Keeley had joined the ''Chicago Tribune'' and enjoyed a notable career with this newspaper, serving as night police reporter, night city editor from 1892 to 1894, city editor from 1894 to 1898, and managing editor and general manager from 1898 to 1914. He served as Dean of the school of journalism at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, in South Bend, Indiana, from 1911. After the deadly

Iroquois Theatre fire The Iroquois Theatre fire was a catastrophic building fire in Chicago, Illinois, that broke out on December 30, 1903, during a performance attended by 1,700 people. The fire caused 602 deaths and 250 non-fatal injuries. It ranks as the worst ...

in 1903, Keeley famously listed all the victims on the front page, leaving the story of what happened to inside the paper, believing that readers wanted to see the names of the dead first. He was also known for lobbying for a "sane Fourth" of July to stop firework deaths, and for tracking down fugitive Chicago bank president Paul O. Stensland. In early 1914, Keeley bought two papers, the '' Chicago Record-Herald'' and '' Inter Ocean'', combining the two to form the '' Chicago Herald''. He served as the ''Chicago Heralds editor from 1914 to 1918. From 1917 to 1919, he covered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

for the ''Herald'' in England and France. The ''Herald'' was bought by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

's ''Chicago Examiner'' in 1918, and named the ''

Chicago Herald and Examiner The ''Chicago American'' was an American newspaper published in Chicago under various names from 1900 until its dissolution in 1975. Its afternoon publication was known as the ''Chicago American'', while its evening publication was known as the ...

''. In addition to his journalistic work, Keeley also served as vice-president of the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

during the 1920s. Keeley died at his home in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

on June 7, 1934, after being ill since January with heart disease. His wife, a former newspaper writer for the ''Sunday Tribune'' in

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 ...

, whom he married in 1895, died in 1927. Their daughter Dorothy Aldis was a children's author and poet.

References

Bibliography

* (biography of Keeley published in 1937)

External links

James Keeley papers, 1895-1937
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeley, James 1867 births 1934 deaths American newspaper editors American newspaper publishers (people) Journalists from London American male journalists British emigrants to the United States