Herman Ridder (March 5, 1851 – November 1, 1915) was an American newspaper publisher and editor.

Biography

Ridder was born 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 ...

, of German Catholic parents. Because of his parents' financial difficulties, Ridder had to leave school at age 11.Barber, Marian J
"Herman Ridder."
In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified September 30, 2015. He had little education, and was an insurance salesman. In 1878 he established the ''Katholisches Volksblatt'', and married Mary C. Amend in 1880. They had three children: Victor F. Ridder, Bernard H. Ridder, and Joseph E. Ridder, all of whom worked in the family newspaper. He founded the ''Catholic News'' in 1886, later continued by his brother Henry Ridder. In 1890 he became trustee and manager, and in 1907 president of the ''

New Yorker Staats-Zeitung The ''New Yorker Staats-Zeitung'', nicknamed ''"The Staats"'', claims to be the leading German-language weekly newspaper in the United States and is one of the oldest, having been published since the mid-1830s. In the late 19th century, it was on ...

'', then the largest and most influential daily paper printed in the German language in the United States. During the visit of Prince Henry of Prussia in February 1903, Ridder arranged a dinner in Henry's honor. In 1908 he was treasurer of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

, where he insisted on campaign finance transparency. He was an official of several important financial institutions. He was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

in 1912. In 1917, after his death, the U.S. declared war on Germany. In 1918

George Sylvester Viereck George Sylvester Viereck (December 31, 1884 – March 18, 1962) was a German-American poet, writer, and pro-German propagandist, latterly on behalf of the German Nazi government. Biography Early life Sylvester's father, Louis Viereck, was born ...

told federal officials that in 1915 Ridder planned a to purchase a newspaper on behalf of propaganda for the German government. Ridder's son said he was very sick at the time and did no such planning. There was no such purchase. He died insolvent, having lost his means with the failure of the International Typesetting Machine Company at the start of World War I. Friends and supporters of Ridder assumed the debts of his publishing enterprise, and the ''Staats-Zeitung'' continued under the joint management of his sons, Bernard H. Ridder and Victor F. Ridder, and later his grandson

Robert Ridder Robert Blair Ridder (July 21, 1919 – June 24, 2000) was an American ice hockey administrator, media businessman, and philanthropist. He was the founding president of the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association, and managed the United States men ...

. His company, Ridder Publications, Inc., later merged with Knight Newspapers, Inc. in 1974, and operated under the name

Knight Ridder Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper brand ...

until 2006, when the company was purchased by

McClatchy The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...

. Herman Ridder Junior High School in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Yo ...

was named in his honor in 1931.

Notes

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References

External links

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Testimonials of appreciation to Herman Ridder, acting president and Henry W. Sackett, secretary of the Hudson-Fulton celebration commission, March, 1910
Publisher: The De Vinne press, New York, 1910
Hermann Ridder Junior High School in New York Bronx

- New Yorker Staats-Zeitung {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridder, Herman 1851 births 1915 deaths American newspaper chain founders Publishers (people) of German-language newspapers in the United States American editors American people of German descent American writers in German Businesspeople from New York City Ridder family 19th-century American businesspeople 1912 United States presidential electors