William Douglas Wallach (1812 – December 1, 1871) was an American surveyor and newspaper entrepreneur. Born in Washington, D.C., he earned a
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...
degree at
Columbian College and moved west doing survey work, reaching the
Republic of Texas in 1838 where he supported
Sam Houston and the annexation of Texas to the U.S.
In 1839 he was editor of the
Matagorda ''Bulletin'' and purchased the Matagorda ''Colorado Gazette and Advertiser'' the following year, which printed until 1843. He returned to Washington in 1845 and joined the staff of the Washington ''Union''. In 1853 he purchased a stake in the ''
Washington Daily Evening Star'', becoming its sole owner in 1855. He guided it to become one of the city's leading newspapers until 1867, when he sold his interests in the ''Star'' to the Noyes, Kauffman, and Adams families.
Wallach died on December 1, 1871, at his home in
Montrose, Virginia.
His middle name Douglas can also be found spelled with 2 "s": Douglass. The Scottish spelling came from his mother and grandmother's family and he was called "Doug". Most online sources have one "s".
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallach, William Douglas
1812 births
1871 deaths
19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
People from Washington, D.C.
19th-century American journalists
American male journalists
19th-century American male writers
George Washington University alumni