Harrison Gray Otis
Encyclopedia
Harrison Gray Otis was the president and general manager of the Times-Mirror Company, publisher of the Los Angeles Times
.
Otis was born near Marietta, Ohio
, on February 10, 1837, the son of Stephen and Sara Otis. His father was from Vermont and his mother, a native of Nova Scotia
, Canada, came to Ohio from Boston, Massachusetts, with her family. The young Otis received schooling until he was fourteen, when he became a printer's apprentice.
Otis and Eliza Ann Wetherby were married in Lowell, Ohio
, on September 11, 1859, and they had three daughters, Lillian Otis McPherson, Marian Otis Chandler
, who was secretary of Times-Mirror, and Mabel Otis Booth.
He was a Kentucky delegate to the Republican
National Convention
that nominated Abraham Lincoln
for president in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he left his job as a compositor in the office of the Louisville Journal to volunteer as a private for the Union army
. Otis fought in the 23rd Ohio Infantry
. He was promoted through the ranks and was made on officer, a lieutenant, in November 1862 and left the Army in July 1865 as a captain.
He was wounded twice in battle, was "twice breveted for gallant and meritorious conduct" and was promoted seven times.
, which had a population then of about 3,000, and he purchased a local newspaper, the Santa Barbara Press
, from C.W. Hollister, effective March 11 of that year. He gave up journalism temporarily in 1879 when he was offered the post of chief government agent or special treasury agent of the Northern Seal Islands, now known as the Pribilof Islands
, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the newly acquired territory of Alaska
. He left that position in 1881 to return to Santa Barbara.
Otis was editing his newspaper there when he was went to Los Angeles — a larger city with a population of some 12,500 — and agreed with the firm of Yarnell
, Caystile & Mathes
to take over editorial responsibilities at the Los Angeles Daily Times, now the Los Angeles Times. Beginning August 1, 1882, he was to "have the editorial conduct of the Daily Times and Weekly Mirror," according to an announcement in the Times. Later the company was named Times-Mirror, and on April 6, 1886, it was reorganized, with Albert McFarland and W.A. Spalding as owners and Otis as president and general manager. That was Otis's official title at the time of his death in 1917. The Times story about his demise noted that the Times-Mirror Company was "publishers [sic] of the Los Angeles Daily Times." The article called Otis the "principal owner" of the newspaper but never referred to him as publisher. Eleven years earlier, however the Associated Press had called him "publisher of the Los Angeles Times."
When the Spanish-American War
broke out in 1898, Otis asked President William McKinley
for an appointment as Assistant Secretary of War. But Secretary of War
Russell A. Alger
did not want the conservative Otis serving under him. Otis thereupon again volunteered for the Army and was appointed brigadier general
of volunteers. He served in the Philippines
. He did not see any action against the Spanish
, but commanded the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps during the Philippine-American War
.
Otis was known for his conservative political views, which were reflected in the paper. His home was one of three buildings that were targeted in the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing
. During his time as publisher of the Times Otis is known for coining the phrase "You are either with me, or against me."
His support for his adopted city was instrumental in the growth of the city. He was a member of a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley
based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles Aqueduct
would soon irrigate it.
He died on July 30, 1917 at the home of his son-in-law, Harry Chandler
.
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
Early life
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...
, on February 10, 1837, the son of Stephen and Sara Otis. His father was from Vermont and his mother, a native of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada, came to Ohio from Boston, Massachusetts, with her family. The young Otis received schooling until he was fourteen, when he became a printer's apprentice.
Otis and Eliza Ann Wetherby were married in Lowell, Ohio
Lowell, Ohio
Lowell is a village in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River. The population was 628 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, on September 11, 1859, and they had three daughters, Lillian Otis McPherson, Marian Otis Chandler
Marian Otis Chandler
Marian Otis Chandler was the secretary and a director of the Times-Mirror Company, which published the Los Angeles Times.-Biography:...
, who was secretary of Times-Mirror, and Mabel Otis Booth.
He was a Kentucky delegate to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
that nominated Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
for president in 1860. At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he left his job as a compositor in the office of the Louisville Journal to volunteer as a private for the Union army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. Otis fought in the 23rd Ohio Infantry
23rd Ohio Infantry
The 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during much of the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a variety of campaigns and battles, and is remembered with a stone memorial on the Antietam National Battlefield not far from Burnside's...
. He was promoted through the ranks and was made on officer, a lieutenant, in November 1862 and left the Army in July 1865 as a captain.
He was wounded twice in battle, was "twice breveted for gallant and meritorious conduct" and was promoted seven times.
Journalism
After the war, Otis was Official Reporter of the Ohio House of Representatives, then moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a government official, correspondent and editor. In 1876, he and his family moved to Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, which had a population then of about 3,000, and he purchased a local newspaper, the Santa Barbara Press
Santa Barbara News-Press
The Santa Barbara News-Press is a broadsheet newspaper based in Santa Barbara, California.-History:The News-Press asserts it is the oldest daily newspaper in Southern California, publishing since 1855...
, from C.W. Hollister, effective March 11 of that year. He gave up journalism temporarily in 1879 when he was offered the post of chief government agent or special treasury agent of the Northern Seal Islands, now known as the Pribilof Islands
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the newly acquired territory of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. He left that position in 1881 to return to Santa Barbara.
Otis was editing his newspaper there when he was went to Los Angeles — a larger city with a population of some 12,500 — and agreed with the firm of Yarnell
Jesse Yarnell
Thomas Jesse Yarnell, known as Jesse Yarnell, was a California newspaperman who established the Los Angeles, California, Weekly Mirror, which took over the Los Angeles Times in 1881 and later merged with it....
, Caystile & Mathes
S.J. Mathes
Samuel Jay Mathes, known as S.J. Mathes, was a pioneer printer and newspaperman in Los Angeles, California, who in 1881 and 1882 directed the editorial policies of the newly established Los Angeles Daily Times, which later became the Los Angeles Times, until General Harrison Gray Otis took over...
to take over editorial responsibilities at the Los Angeles Daily Times, now the Los Angeles Times. Beginning August 1, 1882, he was to "have the editorial conduct of the Daily Times and Weekly Mirror," according to an announcement in the Times. Later the company was named Times-Mirror, and on April 6, 1886, it was reorganized, with Albert McFarland and W.A. Spalding as owners and Otis as president and general manager. That was Otis's official title at the time of his death in 1917. The Times story about his demise noted that the Times-Mirror Company was "publishers [sic] of the Los Angeles Daily Times." The article called Otis the "principal owner" of the newspaper but never referred to him as publisher. Eleven years earlier, however the Associated Press had called him "publisher of the Los Angeles Times."
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
broke out in 1898, Otis asked President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
for an appointment as Assistant Secretary of War. But Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Russell A. Alger
Russell A. Alger
Russell Alexander Alger was the 20th Governor and U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and also U.S. Secretary of War during the Presidential administration of William McKinley...
did not want the conservative Otis serving under him. Otis thereupon again volunteered for the Army and was appointed brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
of volunteers. He served in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He did not see any action against the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, but commanded the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps during the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
.
Otis was known for his conservative political views, which were reflected in the paper. His home was one of three buildings that were targeted in the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing
Los Angeles Times bombing
The Los Angeles Times bombing was the purposeful dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times building in Los Angeles, California, on October 1, 1910 by a union member belonging to the International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers. The explosion started a fire which killed 21 newspaper...
. During his time as publisher of the Times Otis is known for coining the phrase "You are either with me, or against me."
His support for his adopted city was instrumental in the growth of the city. He was a member of a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles Aqueduct
Los Angeles Aqueduct
The Los Angeles Aqueduct system comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power...
would soon irrigate it.
He died on July 30, 1917 at the home of his son-in-law, Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S.-Biography:...
.