Alicia Patterson
Encyclopedia
Alicia Patterson was the founder and editor of Newsday
.
, the founder of the New York Daily News
and the great-granddaughter of Joseph Medill
, owner of the Chicago Tribune
, Alicia Patterson found her calling late in life when her third husband, Harry Guggenheim, wanted to keep her busy and out of trouble. She found her own niche in a family full of successful publishers. She was fired as a writer at her father's Daily News in her early 20s, after getting the basic facts of a divorce wrong in a published report. She was the subject of Joan Miró
's mural
, "Alicia".
She married Harry Guggenheim, United States ambassador to Cuba during the late 1920s/early 1930s, in 1939. Shortly after the Guggenheim-Patterson marriage, Harry Guggenheim used $750,000 of the Guggenheim family's fortune to help his wife found the "Nassau Daily Journal", also known as Newsday. Guggenheim awarded 49% of the paper's stock to his wife, but made sure that he retained 51%. Newsday has been a mostly Nassau County/Suffolk County-oriented Long Island
tabloid for most of its existence.
presents an annual prize to mid-career journalists.
Her nephew, Joseph Medill Patterson Albright
, married former United States Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright
.
Patterson also had a career in comics, creating the character Deathless Deer with Neysa McMein.
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
.
Life
A daughter of Alice (née Higinbotham) and Joseph Medill PattersonJoseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson was an American journalist and publisher, grandson of publisher Joseph Medill, founder of the Chicago Tribune and a mayor of Chicago, Illinois.-Family:...
, the founder of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
and the great-granddaughter of Joseph Medill
Joseph Medill
Joseph Medill was an American newspaper editor and publisher, and politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, and was Mayor of Chicago.-Biography:...
, owner of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, Alicia Patterson found her calling late in life when her third husband, Harry Guggenheim, wanted to keep her busy and out of trouble. She found her own niche in a family full of successful publishers. She was fired as a writer at her father's Daily News in her early 20s, after getting the basic facts of a divorce wrong in a published report. She was the subject of Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
's mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
, "Alicia".
She married Harry Guggenheim, United States ambassador to Cuba during the late 1920s/early 1930s, in 1939. Shortly after the Guggenheim-Patterson marriage, Harry Guggenheim used $750,000 of the Guggenheim family's fortune to help his wife found the "Nassau Daily Journal", also known as Newsday. Guggenheim awarded 49% of the paper's stock to his wife, but made sure that he retained 51%. Newsday has been a mostly Nassau County/Suffolk County-oriented Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
tabloid for most of its existence.
Death
Alicia Patterson died, aged 56, following stomach surgery, on July 2, 1963. Her ashes are interred beneath a live oak at her favorite hunting lodge in Kingsland, Ga.Legacy
The Alicia Patterson FoundationAlicia Patterson Foundation
The Alicia Patterson Foundation Program was established in 1965 in memory of Alicia Patterson, who was editor and publisher of Newsday for nearly 23 years before her death in 1963.-AFP Fellowship:...
presents an annual prize to mid-career journalists.
Her nephew, Joseph Medill Patterson Albright
Joseph Medill Patterson Albright
-Biography:Albright is the scion of a media empire, the grandson and namesake of Joseph Medill Patterson, founder of the New York Daily News who had rivaled William Randolph Hearst in the 1930s. His great-great grandfather, Joseph Medill, owned the Chicago Tribune and had been elected mayor of...
, married former United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
.
Patterson also had a career in comics, creating the character Deathless Deer with Neysa McMein.