William Randolph Hearst Jr. (January 27, 1908 – May 14, 1993) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher and member of the wealthy

Hearst family The Hearst family is a wealthy American family based in California. Their fortune was originally earned in the mining industry during the late 19th century under the entrepreneurial leadership of George Hearst. George's son, William Randolph Hear ...

. He was the second son of the publisher

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

. He became

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

Hearst Newspapers Hearst may refer to: Places * Hearst, former name of Hacienda, California, United States * Hearst, Ontario, town in Northern Ontario, Canada * Hearst, California, an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, United States * Hearst Island, a ...

after the death of his father in 1951. He 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 ...

for his interview with Soviet premier,

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, and associated commentaries in 1955.

Early life and education

Hearst was born on January 27, 1908, in Manhattan, New York City, to

and his wife, Millicent Willson. Hearst attended the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and was a member of the

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, maki ...

fraternity.

Career

Hearst was instrumental in restoring some measure of family control to the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

, which under his father's will is (and will continue to be while any grandchild alive at William Randolph Hearst Sr.'s death in 1951 is still living) controlled by a board of thirteen trustees, five from the Hearst family and eight Hearst executives. When tax laws changed to prevent the foundations his father had established from continuing to own the corporation, he arranged for the family trust (with the same trustees) to buy the shares and for longtime chief executive Richard E. Berlin, who was going senile, to be eased out to become chairman of the trustees for a period. Later, William Randolph Hearst Jr. himself headed the trust and served as chairman of the executive committee of the corporation. At his death, his branch of the family became represented on the trustees by his son,

William Randolph Hearst III William Randolph Hearst III (born June 18, 1949) is an American heir, businessman, philanthropist and member of the wealthy Hearst family. Biography Early life and education William Randolph Hearst III was born on June 18, 1949. His father wa ...

. Hearst was a member of the

Sons of the American Revolution The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), formally the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (NSSAR), is a federally chartered patriotic organization. The National Society, a nonprofit corporation headquartered in Louisvi ...

. He makes a brief appearance in the musical adaptation of ''

Newsies ''Newsies'' is a 1992 American historical musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Bob Tzudiker and Noni White, it is loosely based on the ...

'' as Bill.

Personal life

Hearst was married three times: * Alma Walker (March 24, 1928 – May 26, 1932; divorced) * Lorelle McCarver (March 28, 1933 – March 30, 1948; divorced) * Austine McDonnell (July 29, 1948 – December 15, 1991; her death) He had two sons with McDonnell: *

(born June 18, 1949) * John Augustine Hearst (born October 24, 1952).

References

* ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''; May 15, 1993; William Randolph Hearst Jr., Newspaper Editor, Dies at Age 85. * Michael Cieply and Lindsay Chaney; ''The Hearsts: family and empire: the later years''. .

External links

Guide to the William Randolph Hearst, Jr. Papers
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hearst, William Randolph Jr. 1908 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American newspaper executives Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting winners American socialites

William Randolph Jr. William Randolph II (November 1, 1681October 19, 1741), also known as William Randolph Jr. or Councillor Randolph, was an American planter and politician. He was the State Treasurer, Treasurer of Colony of Virginia, Virginia and the oldest child ...

University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American Episcopalians Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park