When James Gordon Bennett Sr. died on June 1, 1872, his old rival Horace Greeley's New York Tribune eulogized: "He developed the capacities of journalism in a most wonderful manner, but he did it by degrading its character. He made the newspaper powerful, but he made it odious."

Bennett founded the New York Herald on May 6, 1835, with five hundred dollars and a cellar office. In the ensuing thirty-seven years, he guided the Herald into one of the world's most powerful newspapers, with circulation and advertising revenue second only to the London Times. Along the way, he helped create the modern newspaper. Bennett's credits include being the first Washington correspondent; first to publish a direct news interview (with a brothel madam); and first American editor to use news illustrations, print weather reports, cover sports regularly, and hire foreign correspondents.

Born September 1, 1795, in Keith, Banffshire, Scotland...