Mini Biographies of Scots and Scots Descendants

(1795-1872). Born in Keith Banffshire. In the spring of 1819 he left for America. He submitted articles to city newspapers and The Courier in Charles SC noticed him. He saw slavery in action on a visit and was always sympathetic to the southerner thereafter. His big break came in 1826 when the associate editor of The New York Enquirer fell in a duel. He soon gained a reputation for his perceptive sketches of leading American political figures. Bennett brought The Courier and Enquirer in New York to life defending the right of the press to report trials without permission. A failed attempt to publish The New York Globe was followed on May 6, 1835 by the publication of the first edition of The New York Herald. The paper was the first to print a Wall Street financial article, the first to employ European correspondents on a regular basis, and had the first society page He used illustrations and was the first paper to publish the story of a sexual scandal. His office was in a cellar at 20 Wall Street. He maintained a fleet of dispatch boats up to 250 miles off the coast to intercept steamers from Europe and hasten the news. The Herald was also the first paper to make lavish use of the correspondents. It was the first newspaper to publish stock quotations and a daily article on finance. Bennett died May 25, 1872 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.