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

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

who introduced regular

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

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, 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, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

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

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

. He moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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'' 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 (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...

'' in 1815 and the '' Christian Examiner'' 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''; 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 mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...

and diverting the Lake Cochituate for

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

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 conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...

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 (also known as the Compromise of 1820) was federal legislation of the United States that balanced the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand ...

, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and '' Scott v. Sanford''. Hale served in the Massachusetts State Legislature. In 1819, Hale 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 ...

. He was also an active member of the

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) 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 ...

Publications

He published a map of

New England New England is a region consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...

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 (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 Mas ...

) in 1816. Their children included Sarah Everett Hale, Nathan Hale, Jr. (12 November 1818 in Boston - 9 January 1871), Lucretia Peabody Hale, Edward Everett Hale, Charles Hale, Alexander Hale, and Susan Hale. Nathan Sr. was also the nephew of Revolutionary War hero

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an Military intelligence, intelligence ...

. Hale was the maternal uncle of Otis Clapp, who started his career working for Hale at the ''Boston Daily Advertiser''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Nathan 1784 births 1863 deaths People from Westhampton, Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Federalists Massachusetts Whigs Massachusetts Republicans Journalists from Boston 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Boston Daily Advertiser people