Newspaper Sunday: Horace Greeley

After the brilliant newspaper editor Horace Greeley died in November 1872, the printers of New York held a large meeting at which they all agreed to donate "one or more pounds of old type" to be cast into a bust of Greeley to mark his grave in Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery.

The proclamation issued at the meeting said the statue would honor the "grandeur of his brain, and the largeness of his heart." And the bust of Greeley would be made of "type-metal which has been cast into type and worn out in the service of teaching the people."

On what would have been Greeley's 62nd birthday, February 3, 1873, newspapers in New York and other cities and towns throughout America printed their editions and then donated some of the used type to go into the bust.

This past Friday, on a beautiful autumn morning, I walked the ample hills of Green-Wood and visited Greeley's grave. The monument, with the bust containing printer's type, dominates a beautiful hilltop.

I've become so fascinated by Horace Greeley that it was quite moving to visit and think for a time about when his opinions and editorial insight would dominate the national conversation.

This week in Newspaper Sunday we take a look at the coverage of Greeley's death in late November 1872.

• New York Tribune, November 30, 1872: The newspaper Greeley founded reported on his death.
• New York Tribune, December 2, 1872: A front-page story described how Greeley's passing was being marked around the United States.
• New York Tribune, December 4, 1872: A description of Greeley "lying-in-state" at New York's City Hall.
• New York Tribune, December 5, 1872: A poignant description of the scene as New York's newsboys, as well as "laboring men and women and humbler classes generally" lined the streets to watch Greeley's funeral procession as it went from Manhattan to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Note: After clicking on the links to the excerpts of newspaper articles, click the "persistent link" at the Chronicling America site to view the entire page of the newspaper.

Photograph: Horace Greeley monument, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn/photograph by Robert McNamara

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