Born 1724
London, England
Died July 4, 1802
New York, New York

Publisher, printer, bookseller, spy

"[I have] always meant honestly and openly to do [my] duty as a servant of the public… [and my press] has always been open and free to all parties."
Portrait: James Rivington. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, Inc.

James Rivington, born in London to a family of publishers, was named by the king of England as the Royal Printer of New York during the Revolutionary War (1775–83). His Royal Gazette became one of the best-selling newspapers in the colonies, and it is considered the first daily newspaper to be published in the United States. He began the war as a Tory or Loyalist—someone who wanted to remain loyal to and keep the American colonies a part of England—but in 1781 he began to work as a spy for General George Washington (1732–1799; see...