Harrison Gray Otis (publisher)
Harrison Gray Otis | |
---|---|
Born | near Marietta, Ohio, U.S. | February 10, 1837
Died | July 30, 1917 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 80)
Occupation | newspaper publisher |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Eliza Ann Wetherby (m. 1859–1904, her death) |
Children | Lillian Otis McPherson Marian Otis Chandler Mabel Otis Booth |
Parent(s) | Stephen Otis Sara Otis |
Relatives | Mike Chandler (great-great grandson) Marilyn "Missy" Brant Chandler (first great-granddaughter-in-law) Bettina Whitaker Chandler (second great-granddaughter-in-law) Norman Chandler (grandson) Otis Chandler (great-grandson) Dorothy Buffum Chandler (granddaughter-in-law) Harry Chandler (son-in-law) |
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Harrison Gray Otis (February 10, 1837 – July 30, 1917) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who later became president and general manager of the Times Mirror Company, then the publisher of the Los Angeles Times.
Biography
Early life and education
Otis was born near
Career
Otis was a delegate from Kentucky to the Republican National Convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860.
Civil War
At the outbreak of the
On July 2, 1864, the veterans of the 12th Ohio were transferred to the
He was wounded twice in battle, was "twice breveted for gallant and meritorious conduct" and was promoted seven times.[2]
Journalism
After the war, Otis was Official Reporter of the Ohio House of Representatives, then moved to Washington, D.C., where he was a government official, correspondent and editor.[1] In 1876, he and his family moved to Santa Barbara, California, which had a population then of about 3,000, and he purchased a local newspaper, the Santa Barbara Press, from William Welles Hollister, effective March 11 of that year.[3] He gave up journalism temporarily in 1879 when he was offered the post of chief government agent or special treasury agent[4] of the Northern Seal Islands, now known as the Pribilof Islands, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the newly acquired territory of Alaska. He left that position in 1881 to return to Santa Barbara.[1]
Otis was editing his newspaper there when he went to Los Angeles – a larger city with a population of some 12,500 – and agreed with the firm of
Otis was known for his conservative political views, which were reflected in the paper. His home was one of three buildings that were targeted in the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing. During his time as publisher of the Times Otis is known for coining the phrase "You are either with me, or against me."
When the
His support for his adopted city was instrumental in the growth of the city. He was a member of a group of investors who bought land in the San Fernando Valley based on inside knowledge that the Los Angeles Aqueduct would soon irrigate it.[10]
Otis and his son-in-law
On December 23, 1916, General Harrison Gray Otis, donated his spacious Wilshire Boulevard home across the street from MacArthur Park, known as the Bivouac, to Los Angeles County to be used "continuously and perpetually for the Arts and advancement of the Arts." The Otis Art Institute of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science, and Art eventually became Otis College of Art and Design. The home was torn down in the 1950s, but the school built new buildings and occupied the space until 1997. It is now the site of a public elementary school.[12]
Personal life
Otis married
Death
Otus died on July 30, 1917, at the home of his son-in-law, Harry Chandler, in Los Angeles.[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Hamersly, Lewis Randolph (July 29, 1905). "Biographical sketches of distinguished officers of the army and navy". New York, L.R. Hamersly – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Eliza A Otis." Magazine of Poetry: A Quarterly Review. October 1892: 375. Print. Vol. IV No. 4.
- ^ Ainsworth, Ed (December 3, 1961). "Pair Honored by Press Had Interwoven Careers". Los Angeles Times. San Francisco. pp. F1, F6. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bering Sea Controversy". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 1892. p. 6. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Business Announcement". Los Angeles Times. July 28, 1882. p. 2. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fourteen Years of Progress". Los Angeles Times. December 4, 1895. p. 9. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gen. Otis Presents Candid Statement". Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1914. pp. II-1, II-2, II-7. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gen. Harrison Gray Otis Is Suddenly Called by Death". Los Angeles Times. July 31, 1917. pp. II-1, II-2. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Memorial". Los Angeles Times. Washington. Associated Press. February 18, 1896. p. 1. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Mulholland, Catherine. The Owensmouth Baby – The Making of the San Fernando Valley Santa Susana Press, California, 1987; pp. 18–20.
- ^ Dwyer, John J. The Agrarian Dispute: The Expropriation of American-Owned Rural Land in Postrevolutionary Mexico. Duham: Duke University Press 2008.
- ^ "A Glimpse of the Past". Otis College of Art and Design. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- The Atlanta Constitution. Los Angeles, California. July 31, 1917. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
General Harrison Gray Otis, president and general manager of The Los Angeles Times, died today at the home of his son-in-law, Harry Chandler.
External links
- PBS biography Archived June 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- Otis biography in the Bancroft Library
- General Harrison Gray Otis Statue, Los Angeles, California
- Harrison Gray Otis Album of California Scenes, around 1890–1910, in the Bancroft Library
- Historic Los Angeles – Wilshire Blvd. When It Was Residential (for pictures of his home)