John Neville Wheeler (April 11, 1886 – October 13, 1973) was an American newspaperman, publishing executive, magazine editor, and writer. He was born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, graduated

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

(which holds a collection of his papers), was a veteran of

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 ...

serving in France as a field artillery lieutenant, began his newspaper career at the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'', and became managing editor of ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

''. He was married to Elizabeth T. Wheeler and had one daughter, the film editor Elizabeth Wheeler, who died in 1956. He is known primarily as the founder of several newspaper syndicates, of which the largest was the

North American Newspaper Alliance The North American Newspaper Alliance (NANA) was a large newspaper syndicate in operation between 1922 and 1980. NANA employed writers such as Grantland Rice, Joseph Alsop, Michael Stern, Lothrop Stoddard, Dorothy Thompson, George Schuyler, P ...

(NANA), and through which he employed some of the most noted writing talents of his day.

Syndicates

In 1913, while still a sportswriter for the ''Herald'', Wheeler formed the Wheeler Syndicate to specialize in distribution of sports features to newspapers in the United States and Canada. That same year his Wheeler Syndicate contracted with pioneering comic strip artist

Bud Fisher Harry Conway "Bud" Fisher (April 3, 1885 – September 7, 1954) was an American cartoonist who created ''Mutt and Jeff'', the first successful daily comic strip in the United States. Early life Born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a merchant, ...

and cartoonist

Fontaine Fox Fontaine Talbot Fox Jr. (June 4, 1884 – August 9, 1964) was an American cartoonist and illustrator best known for writing and illustrating his ''Toonerville Folks'' comic panel, which ran from 1913 to 1955 in 250 to 300 newspapers across North ...

to begin distributing their work. Fisher is reported to have received an annual guarantee of $52,000, an unprecedented amount at that time. Journalist

Richard Harding Davis Richard Harding Davis (April 18, 1864 – April 11, 1916) was an American journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish–American War, the Second Boer War, and World War ...

was sent to Belgium as war correspondent and reported on early battlefield actions, as the Wheeler Syndicate became a comprehensive news collection and distribution operation. In 1916, it was purchased by the

McClure Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the mark ...

, the oldest and largest U.S. news and feature syndicate. Immediately upon the sale of the Wheeler Syndicate to McClure, Wheeler founded another, the

Bell Syndicate The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler, was an American syndicate that distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strips to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York City at 247 West 4 ...

which soon attracted

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries—Ernest Hemingway, Virginia W ...

, and was joined by cartoonists Fisher and Fox.

James J. Montague James Jackson Montague (April 16, 1873 – December 16, 1941) was an American journalist, satirist, and poet. Renowned as a "versifier", Montague is best known for his column "More Truth Than Poetry", which was published in a wide number of ...

also contributed his column "More Truth than Poetry" and other articles. In early 1924, Wheeler became executive editor of the new weekly magazine ''

'', and served in that capacity until early 1926 while continuing to run the Bell Syndicate. In 1930, he became general manager of the

, established in 1922 by 50 major newspapers in the United States and Canada which absorbed Bell, both continuing to operate individually under joint ownership. NANA continued to acquire other syndicates, including the

. In 1947,

Cape Wheeler Wright Inlet () is an ice-filled inlet receding westward between Cape Little and Cape Wheeler along the east coast of Palmer Land, Antarctica. Location Wright Inlet is on the Lassiter Coast of southern Palmer Land, opening onto the Weddell Se ...

in Antarctica was named after him. Wheeler's autobiography, ''I've Got News for You'', was published in 1961.Williamson, Samuel T
"Footnotes on Headliners and Byliners: I'VE GOT NEWS FOR YOU. By John Wheeler,"
''New York Times'' (October 1, 1961), p. 171. By the time he sold NANA in 1966 to the publishing and media company, Koster-Dana, he had employed many of the most influential writers of his time, including

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

Joseph Alsop Joseph Wright Alsop V (October 10, 1910 – August 28, 1989) was an American journalist and syndicated newspaper columnist from the 1930s through the 1970s. He was an influential journalist and top insider in Washington from 1945 to the late 19 ...

Dorothy Thompson Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany, in 1934, and was one of the few women news commentators broadc ...

Pauline Frederick Pauline Frederick (born Pauline Beatrice Libbey; August 12, 1883 – September 19, 1938) was an American stage and film actress. Early life Frederick was born Pauline Beatrice Libbey (later changed to Libby) in Boston in 1883 (some sources stat ...

Sheilah Graham Sheilah Graham (born Lily Shiel; 15 September 1904 – 17 November 1988) was a British-born, nationally syndicated American gossip columnist during Hollywood's "Golden Age". In her youth, she had been a showgirl and a freelance writer for Fl ...

and

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

. It was Wheeler who hired

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

to cover the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, who inscribed for him a copy of ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'', "To Jack Wheeler, who gave me the chance to go to war." When he died on October 13, 1973, in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is an affluent New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and on the New York state border, Ridgefield had a population o ...

, at the age of 87, his obituary in the ''

Ridgefield Press ''The Ridgefield Press'' is an American weekly newspaper published each Thursday for Ridgefield, Connecticut. The newspaper was established in 1875, and has a paid circulation of about 4,753 copies. It is currently owned by Hearst Media, whic ...

'' described him as one who "never quit newspapering, permanently, until his death."

References

Notes

Sources consulted

*Desmond, Robert W
"Wheeler, John Neville,"
''Encyclopedia Americana''. Grolier Online (accessed November 19, 2006). *Ridgefield News, The

''Who's Who in Ridgefield''. Hersam-Acorn Newspapers (Online) (accessed November 19, 2006). {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, John Neville 1886 births 1973 deaths American magazine editors Columbia College (New York) alumni Comic strip syndicates New York Herald people Sportswriters from New York (state)