Eugene M O'Neill (September 10, 1850 – November 26, 1926) was an Irish-born American lawyer and newspaper owner.

Biography

O'Neill was born in

Clonroche Clonroche () is a village in County Wexford, Ireland. It is located approximately west of Enniscorthy and approximately east of New Ross, on the N30 national primary route. History From the mid-17th century until the early 20th century, th ...

, County Wexford,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the son of Hugh O'Neill, headmaster of town school, and Kate (Navin) O'Neill. He received his primary education at the local school run by his father then went to the University of Dublin, where he graduated at age 17. After graduation, O'Neill emigrated to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, in the United States, in March 1867. At the time, O'Neill's brother, Daniel O'Neill, was publisher, editor, and owner of the ''

Pittsburgh Dispatch The ''Pittsburgh Dispatch'' was a leading newspaper in Pittsburgh, operating from 1846 to 1923. After being enlarged by publisher Daniel O'Neill it was reportedly one of the largest and most prosperous newspapers in the United States. From 1880 ...

'', and O'Neill started work on the paper as a reporter. He worked at the paper as an editorial writer until 1874, when he began practicing law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

of Allegheny County and practiced in both county and city courts for three years. In 1875, he was elected

City Councilman A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

of Pittsburgh, the only political office he ever accepted. When his brother died on 30 January 1877, O'Neill took over management of the paper, a position he retained until again retiring from newspaper work in March 1902. In addition to practicing law and his work in journalism, O'Neill was an active investor in real estate and industry, accumulating a fortune which at his death was estimated at $8,000,000. Eugene married Daniel's widow, Mrs Emily Martha "Emma" (Seely) O'Neill. They had no children. The couple lived in the family home "Linden House" in Pittsburgh, located on the corner of

Penn Avenue Penn Avenue is a major arterial street in Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg, in Pennsylvania. Its western terminus lies at Gateway Center in downtown Pittsburgh. For its westernmost ten blocks it serves as the core of the Cultural District with such ...

and Linden Street. O'Neill died on 26 November 1926 at St Luke's Hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

after a three-month illness. The cause of death was

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. He left a son, Florence O'Neill of Paris, France, and a daughter, Emily O'Neill Davies, and 3 grandchildren. After his death, he was interred at the

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and bou ...

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20081228024059/http://www.esatclear.ie/~lorcand/history.htm#O%27Neill {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Eugene M 1850 births 1926 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) People from County Wexford American newspaper executives Mass media in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh City Council members 19th-century American newspaper editors Burials at Allegheny Cemetery