Nathan Hale (16 August 1784 – 9 February 1863) was an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

who introduced regular

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

comment as a newspaper feature.Colby, Frank Moore; Talcott Williams; Herbert Treadwell Wade (1922). ''The New International Encyclopedia''. Dodd, Mead and company

Life and career

Born in

Westhampton, Massachusetts Westhampton is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,622 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Westhampton was first settled in 1762. Or ...

, Hale graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1804, and then was a tutor for two years at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

. He moved to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he was admitted to the bar in 1810, and practiced law for four years. He began to co-edit '' The Weekly Messenger'' in 1813 and founded the ''

Boston Daily Advertiser The ''Boston Daily Advertiser'' (est. 1813) was the first daily newspaper in Boston, and for many years the only daily paper in Boston. History The ''Advertiser'' was established in 1813, and in March 1814 it was purchased by journalist Nathan ...

'' that same year, serving as editor and publisher until his death in 1863. Hale was one of the founders of the ''

North American Review The ''North American Review'' (NAR) was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which it was inactive until revived a ...

'' in 1815 and the ''

Christian Examiner ''The Christian Examiner'' was an American periodical published between 1813 and 1869. History and profile Founded in 1813 as ''The Christian Disciple'', it was purchased in 1814 by Nathan Hale. His son Edward Everett Hale later oversaw publicati ...

'' in 1823. In 1842, he was asked by the firm of Bradbury, Soden and Company to suggest an editor for a new monthly magazine they were planning to publish, ''

The Boston Miscellany ''The Boston Miscellany of Literature and Fashion'' was a monthly literary and fashion magazine published in Boston, Massachusetts from 1842 to 1843. It also published book reviews and music. The initial issue of ''The Boston Miscellany'' was pu ...

''; Hale named his 21-year-old son, Nathan Hale, Jr., as its founding editor. Hale was active in promoting industrial improvement, especially the

Boston and Albany Railroad The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The line is currently used by CSX for freight. Pass ...

and diverting the

Lake Cochituate Lake Cochituate is a body of water in Natick, Wayland, and Framingham, Massachusetts, United States. Originally a reservoir serving Boston, it no longer serves that function, and is now a local recreational resource and home to Cochituate State P ...

for potable water in the Back Bay, the Neck and the South Cove.'' The Century'' (1885). Edward Everett Hale. The Century Co., Volume 29, p. 339 His alliance to the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...

continued until its dissolution, after which Hale sided with the Whig Party and eventually the Republican Party. He opposed the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a Slave states an ...

, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and '' Scott v. Sanford''. Hale served in the

Massachusetts State Legislature The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

. In 1819, Hale was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. He was also an active member of the

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...

Publications

He published a map of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in 1825, and a series of stereotype maps on a plan of his own invention in 1830, being the first maps with names printed in page with type made by the founders. He also published ''Journal of Debates and Proceedings in the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention'' (Boston, 1821), and numerous pamphlets on the practicability of railroads, on canals, and other topics.

Family

He married

Sarah Preston Everett Sarah Preston Everett Hale (5 September 1796 – 14 November 1866) was an American diarist, translator, columnist and newspaper publisher. Biography Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1796 Sarah Preston Everett was the daughter of the Reverend O ...

(sister of

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Massa ...

) in 1816. Their children included Sarah Everett Hale, Nathan Hale, Jr. (12 November 1818 in Boston - 9 January 1871),

Lucretia Peabody Hale Lucretia Peabody Hale (September 2, 1820 – June 12, 1900) was an American journalist and author. Biography Hale was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and educated at George B. Emerson's school there. Subsequently she devoted herself to literat ...

Edward Everett Hale Edward Everett Hale (April 3, 1822 – June 10, 1909) was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister, best known for his writings such as "The Man Without a Country", published in ''Atlantic Monthly'', in support of the Union dur ...

Charles Hale Charles Hale (1831–1882) of Boston was an American legislator and diplomat. Intermittently from 1855 to 1877, he served in the Massachusetts state House and Senate. He was Speaker of the House in 1859. In the 1860s he lived in Cairo, Egypt, as ...

, Alexander Hale, and Susan Hale.Smith College. Hale Family papers
Biographical note
Nathan, Sr., was also the nephew of the Revolutionary War hero, hanged by the British as a spy,

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured b ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Nathan 1794 births 1863 deaths People from Westhampton, Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Nathan Hale American people of English descent Massachusetts Federalists Massachusetts Whigs 19th-century American politicians Massachusetts Republicans Writers from Boston 19th-century American people Boston Daily Advertiser people