John Shively Knight (October 26, 1894 – June 16, 1981) was an American

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 ...

publisher and editor based in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

Early life and education

Knight was born in

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

, to Charles Landon Knight and Clara Irene Shively. Known to his family and friends as "Jack," he attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

but never graduated, leaving early to enlist in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. While at Cornell he was a member of the

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in North Am ...

fraternity. However, he later received the degree of "War Alumnus."

Military Career

After enlisting, Knight would undergo basic training at Fort Crook, Nebraska. Originally assigned as a company clerk, he was transferred to motor transport and underwent training in Indianapolis. In December of 1917, he would travel Halifax, Nova Scotia to board a ship that would take him and his unit to Le Havre, France arriving January 7, 1918. As a truckmaster sergeant, he convoyed supplies to support the First and 26th divisions. Knight enrolled in Infantry Training School, where he was accepted as a officer candidate. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on July 9th, and assigned to the 113th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division. Knight joined the division on its patrols, and between August 31st and September 7th would conduct raids and capture prisoners. Knight would be transferred for Air Service training before the end of September. He trained as a gunner, remaining in France until May 1919. He returned to his home in Akron on June 27, 1919.

Career

In 1920 he started at his father's newspaper, ''

The Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

'', as sportswriter, and moved up to managing editor before inheriting the paper in 1933. In 1923, Knight served as the fourth president of the Akron Host Lions Club. Beginning a nationwide expansion, Knight bought the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' in 1937. His national Knight Newspapers chain, headquartered in Akron, eventually also included the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Daily News, Charlotte Observer, Tallahassee Democrat, Lexington Herald and Leader, and Macon Telegraph. In 1940, in honor of their father Charles Landon Knight, John, along with his brother James L. Knight established the Knight Educational Memorial Fund. It provided financial aid to college students in Akron, Ohio. The fund operated until 1950 when its assets were transferred to the newly organized Knight Foundation. It continued providing financial aid to students, as well as made small grants to local institutions. During the latter part of World War II, Knight took a leave from the newspaper business, serving as Director of the U.S.

Office of Censorship The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up by the United States federal government on December 19, 1941, to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States, including its territories ...

, in London. By 1973, his portfolio included fifteen newspapers. A year later, 1974, he merged his company with Ridder Publications to form Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc.

Honors and awards

* His nationwide column, "The Editor's Notebook," won him the 1968

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for editorial writing. * In 1969 Knight received the

Elijah Parish Lovejoy Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) was an American Presbyterianism, Presbyterian minister (Christianity), minister, journalist, Editing, newspaper editor, and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. After his ...

Award as well as an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

Personal life

John Knight lost first his wife, Katherine, and then two of three sons at early ages. Lieutenant John S. Knight, Jr. was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

near

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on March 29, 1945. Youngest son Frank McLain Knight died at age thirty on March 9, 1958 following emergency brain surgery. In retirement, John Knight devoted much of his time to the raising of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

race horses at his Fourth Estate Stable based in Miami. Knight died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

Dedications

*The John S. Knight Auditorium is a large lecture hall in Leigh Hall, a building on the campus of the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

. *The John S. Knight Reading Room is located in Bierce Library, a building on the campus of the University of Akron. *The John S. Knight Center is a large convention center in downtown Akron. *The John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines at

. *The

John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford is a paid 9-month journalism fellowship at Stanford University. It is one of 20 such programs available in the US for working journalists. It is connected to the School of Humanities and Scien ...

support journalists from around the world in exploring solutions to issues facing innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in journalism, thanks to a $4 million grant from the

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

in 1984.John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford.
Accessed November 21, 2017.

References

External links

* Photo {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, John S. 1894 births 1981 deaths American military personnel of World War I American newspaper editors American newspaper chain owners American racehorse owners and breeders 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Cornell University alumni Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award recipients Journalists from West Virginia Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Businesspeople from Akron, Ohio Businesspeople from Bluefield, West Virginia Military personnel from Bluefield, West Virginia Writers from Bluefield, West Virginia Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing winners Knight family (publishing) 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Presidents of the American Society of News Editors