''The Aegis'' is a local newspaper in

Harford County Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Its first issue was published on February 2, 1923.

History

Before the

Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...

, then-owners of ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', purchased ''The Aegis'' in 1986, it was known as '' The Aegis & Intelligencer''. In 1923, then-owner John D. Worthington, Sr. simplified its name to ''The Aegis''. The name "Aegis" originally derived from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

and is a reference to

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

' shield, meant to "evoke protection for the interests of Harford residents" as well as the founding paper's Southern sympathies. Since 1923, ''The Aegis'' has gone through several name changes. From March 16, 1951, to January 9, 1964, the paper was known as ''The Aegis and Harford Gazette''. From January 16, 1964, to September 18, 1969, it was named ''The Aegis, the Harford Gazette and the Democratic Ledger''. Finally, on September 25, 1969, its original name of ''The Aegis'' was restored, and it is published under this name to this day as a sister paper to ''

''. The first building built specifically to house ''The Aegis'' was constructed in 1871, at 119 S. Main Street in

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, w ...

. In 1962 the paper moved to a larger facility on Hays Street.

Notable figures

William Robert Wallis, known to most as "Robbie," started out on a

pre-law In the United States, pre-law refers to any course of study taken by an undergraduate in preparation for study at a law school. The American Bar Association requires law schools to admit only students with an accredited Bachelor's Degree or its ...

track at the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

, but was convinced to join ''The Aegis'' in 1952 by John D. Worthington II as the paper's first sports editor. He worked for ''The Aegis'' for 38 years and was managing editor of the paper by the time of his retirement in 1990. Robert was well known in Bel Air and active in numerous state and local organizations, even serving for 11 years as a member of the Maryland Stadium Authority. The Worthington family played a huge role in shaping the newspaper throughout its history, beginning with John D. Worthington Sr. who purchased the paper in 1904. Expanding with each successive generation, ''The Aegis'' stayed in the hands of the Worthingtons until 2010, when John D. Worthington IV retired, ending his family's 105-year ownership of the paper. He had been at the helm since 1973, surviving two purchases of the paper: one by the Times Mirror in 1986 and another by the Tribune Media Company in 2000.

References

External links

''The Aegis'' website
Newspapers published in Maryland 1856 establishments in Maryland Publishing companies established in 1856 Tribune Publishing {{Maryland-newspaper-stub