Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. (February 5, 1926 – September 29, 2012) was an American publisher and a businessman. Born into a prominent media and publishing family, Sulzberger became publisher of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 1963 and chairman of the board of

The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media corporation that publishes ''The New York Times'' and its associated publications such as ''The New York Times International Edition'' and other media properties. The New York Times Company's ...

in 1973. Sulzberger relinquished to his son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the office of publisher in 1992, and the board chairmanship in 1997.

Early life and education

Sulzberger was born to a Jewish family on February 5, 1926, in New York City, the son of

Arthur Hays Sulzberger Arthur Hays Sulzberger (September 12, 1891December 11, 1968) was publisher of ''The New York Times'' from 1935 to 1961. During that time, daily circulation rose from 465,000 to 713,000 and Sunday circulation from 745,000 to 1.4 million; the staff ...

and Iphigene Bertha Ochs (daughter of

Adolph Ochs Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of ''The New York Times'' and ''The Chattanooga Times'', which is now the ''Chattanooga Times Free Press''. Through his only child, Iphigene ...

, the former publisher and owner of ''

'' and the '' Chattanooga Times'' and granddaughter of Rabbi

Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...

).American Jewish Archives: "A Finding Aid to the Isaac Mayer Wise Papers. 1838–1931 – Manuscript Collection No. 436"
retrieved September 27, 2015 He had a sister named Judy, which gave rise to his nickname, "Punch", in reference to the British traditional puppet show,

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Mr Punch and one other ...

. Sulzberger graduated from the

Loomis Chaffee School The Loomis Chaffee School (; LC or Loomis) is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, including postgraduate students, located in Windsor, Connecticut, seven miles north of Hart ...

and then enlisted into the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, serving from 1944 to 1946, in the Pacific Theater. He earned a B.A. degree in English and history in 1951 at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. As a student, he roomed with composer Philip Springer in John Jay Hall. As a member of the

Marine Forces Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedit ...

he was recalled to active duty during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Following completion of officer training, he saw duty in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and then in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, before being inactivated.

Publisher of ''The New York Times''

Sulzberger became publisher of ''The New York Times'' in 1963, after the death of his sister Marian's husband, Orvil Dryfoos, who had been publisher for less than two years. Sulzberger was 37 at the time, the youngest publisher in ''Times'' history. Prior to Dryfoos, Sulzberger's father,

, and maternal grandfather,

, were the publishers, and also the chairs of the board of

. In the 1960s Sulzberger built a large news-gathering staff at ''The Times''. He was its publisher when the newspaper won a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 1972 for publishing The Pentagon Papers. He was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) 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 other ...

in 1988. His son Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. succeeded him as the newspaper's publisher in 1992. Sulzberger remained chairman of

until October 1997.

Philanthropy

In addition to his work at ''

'', he also served as trustee from 1968 as well as chairman of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

from 1987 to 1998. He was elected as a life trustee of

in 1967.

Personal life and death

Sulzberger was married three times. In 1948, he married Barbara Winslow Grant(of mostly

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

and English heritage) in a civil ceremony at her parents' home in

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...

. They had two children: Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.; and Karen Alden Sulzberger (married to author Eric Lax); before divorcing in 1956. In December 1956, he married Carol Fox Fuhrman; they had one daughter, Cynthia Fox Sulzberger Green, before his wife died in 1995. He also adopted Fox's daughter from a previous marriage, Cathy Sulzberger (who married Joseph George Perpich). In 1996, he married Allison Stacey Cowles, widow of William H. Cowles, 3rd (died 1992), who was part of the Cowles family that owns ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. In 2005, the

Newspaper Association of America A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports, ar ...

(NAA) honored Sulzberger with the

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, wh ...

Lifetime Achievement Award. Sulzberger dedicated the

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

pub, aptly named "Punch's Alley", in honor of his wife, Allison, a class of 1955 Wellesley alum. Sulzberger died at his home in

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...

on September 29, 2012, at the age of 86.

Publication of the Pentagon Papers

On June 13, 1971, ''The New York Times'' published the first of seven articles on the ''

Pentagon Papers The ''Pentagon Papers'', officially titled ''Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force'', is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States in the Vietnam War, United States' political and militar ...

''. According to Floyd Abrams, Sulzberger "made the call to accept the risks rather than those of silence", adding that "In retrospect, the decision may seem obvious, but it was by no means an easy one at the time, and it remains one for which Sulzberger deserves enormous credit." Floyd Abrams, '' Speaking Freely'', published by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

(2005), Page 12.

References

Sources

* ''Behind the Times: Inside the New New York Times'', by Edwin Diamond. Villard Books. * ''The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind The New York Times,'' by Alex S. Jones, Susan E. Tifft. Back Bay Books (2000), .

External links

Oral history interview with Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 1998 Aug. 5- Oct. 14
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives, New York. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sulzberger, Arthur Ochs 1926 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Jewish American military personnel United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of German-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Sulzberger family The New York Times corporate staff The New York Times publishers United States Marine Corps officers Loomis Chaffee School alumni 21st-century American Jews