Paul Block (November 2, 1875 – June 22, 1941) was president of Paul Block and Associates (later

Block Communications Block Communications Inc. (also known as Blade Communications) is an American privately held holding company of various assets, mainly in the print and broadcast media, based in Toledo, Ohio. The company was founded in 1900 in New York City when ...

) and publisher of the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'', '' The Toledo Blade'', and a dozen other newspapers.Jewish Journal: "Services Held for Paul Block, Famous Publisher"
June 24, 1941

Biography

Block was born on November 2, 1875, to a poor

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

family in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. In 1885, his parents immigrated to

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...

, where his father worked as a ragpicker.Toledo Blade: "Paul Block: Story of success" BY JACK LESSENBERRY
January 9, 2013 Block attended Elmira public schools and at the age of 10, he worked as a part-time newsboy and office messenger with Harry Brooks, the founder of the Elmira Telegram, where he learned the newspaper business. In 1900, he left the Elmira Telegram and formed his own advertising rep firm which sold national advertising for client newspapers,

,Block Communications Website
retrieved December 1, 2014 and is credited with pioneering the concept of national news advertising. He developed a close friendship and business relationship with

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 ...

frequently serving as a frontman for Hearst's newspaper acquisitions (Block's mistress

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies left the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

would become Hearst's mistress and Block would later serve as Hearst's executor) as well as purchasing several papers outright beginning with the '' Newark Star-Eagle'' and the ''

Detroit Journal The ''Detroit Journal'' was a newspaper published in Detroit, Michigan from September 1, 1883 through March 23, 1922. The ''Detroit Evening Journal'', established by Lloyd Brezee, started as a two-cent daily with Brezee in the position of editor ...

''. In 1926, he acquired the ''Toledo Blade'' and in 1927, he created the ''

''.American Journalism Review: "Blocked Out - The Block family shutters its newspapers’ Washington bureau" by Jodi Enda
April / May 2006 He went on to own 14 papers, including ''

The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'', the '' Brooklyn Standard-Union'', the ''

New York Evening Mail The ''New York Evening Mail'' (1867–1924) was an American daily newspaper published in New York City. For a time the paper was the only evening newspaper to have a franchise in the Associated Press. History Names The paper was founded as the ' ...

'', the '' Los Angeles Express'', the '' Memphis News-Scimitar'', '' The Toledo Times'', the ''

Lancaster New Era LNP Media Group owns and publishes '' LNP'', a daily newspaper based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and ''LancasterOnline'', its online affiliate with monthly readership of over one million. ''LNP'' traces its roots to ''The Lancaster Journa ...

'', the '' Duluth Herald'', and the '' Duluth News-Tribune''. Block was a close friend of New York City mayor

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Jimmy Walker and Beau James, was an American attorney, lyricist, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 97th mayor of New York City from 1926 until his resign ...

(often letting Walker use his apartment for liaisons with his mistress

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

dancer Betty Compton) and president

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

. Block also played a key role in advancing the career of future president

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

by supporting his 1928 campaign for governor.

Philanthropy

Block was active in Jewish philanthropy and headed the 1931 campaign of the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies.

Personal life

He was married to Dina Wallach;Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "Obituary: William Block / Longtime publisher of Post-Gazette dies - Unassuming leader of 60 years with wide interests in arts, community" by Michael McGough and James O'Toole
June 21, 2005
June 14, 1981 they had two sons: William Block and Paul Block Jr. Block died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1941; funeral services were held at Temple Emanu-El in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Paul 1875 births 1941 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Deaths from cancer in New York (state) American philanthropists Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States