William Douglas Wallach was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 surveyor and newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 entrepreneur. Born in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, he earned a civil engineering

Civil engineering

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

 degree at Columbian College

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 and moved west doing survey work, reaching the Republic of Texas

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 in 1838 where he supported Sam Houston

Sam Houston

Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...

 and the annexation of Texas to the U.S.

In 1839 he was editor of the Matagorda

Matagorda, Texas

Matagorda is an unincorporated community in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. It had a population of approximately 710 in 2000. Matagorda is at the end of State Highway 60 and beginning of Farm to Market Road 2031, which runs over the Intracoastal Waterway and south to the Gulf of Mexico...

 Bulletin and purchased the Matagorda Colorado Gazette and Advertiser the following year, which printed until 1843. He returned to Washington in 1845 and joined the staff of the Washington Union. In 1853 he purchased a stake in the Washington Daily Evening Star

Washington Star

The Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...

, becoming its sole owner in 1855. He guided it to become one of the city's leading newspapers until 1867, when he sold his interests in the Star to the Noyes, Kauffman, and Adams families.

Wallach died on December 1, 1871, at his home in Montrose, Virginia

Montrose, Virginia

Montrose is a census-designated place in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,018 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Montrose is located at ....

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