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Henry Watterson | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromKentucky's5th district | |
| In office August 12, 1876 – March 3, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Y. Parsons |
| Succeeded by | Albert S. Willis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1840-02-16)February 16, 1840 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | December 22, 1921(1921-12-22) (aged 81) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 8 |
| Signature |  |
Henry Watterson (February 16, 1840 – December 22, 1921), the son of a U.S. Congressman fromTennessee, became a prominent journalist inLouisville, Kentucky, as well as aConfederate soldier, author and partial term U.S. Congressman. ADemocrat like his fatherHarvey Magee Watterson, Henry Watterson for five decades after theAmerican Civil War was a part-owner and editor of theLouisville Courier-Journal, which was founded byWalter Newman Haldeman and would be purchased byRobert Worth Bingham in 1919, who would end the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist's association with the paper.[1][2]
Born inWashington, D.C., on February 16, 1840, to the former Tilithacumi (Talitha) Black ofSpring Hill, Tennessee and her husband,Harvey Magee Watterson, aShelbyville, Tennessee lawyer and U.S. Congressman. His father was close to PresidentAndrew Jackson, also from Tennessee, and in 1843 would become the publisher of theWashington Union, the main newspaper of theDemocratic party of that era. His uncle in Ohio would also become a newspaper editor, lawyer, Union soldier during the Civil War and ultimatelyRepublican U.S. Supreme Court justiceStanley Matthews.
Henry was an only child. He was sickly, with very poor eyesight and that only in one eye, so that his mother home-schooled him in Washington, D.C., and their home inNashville, Tennessee[3] until he was twelve years old. She then sent him toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, where he received his only formal education, at an academy run by an Episcopal priest, and he also ran the school paper, theNew Era, on a press his father donated.[1]
After the American Civil War as discussed below, in September 1865, Watterson returned to Nashville to marry Rebecca Ewing, with whom he would have six sons and two daughters. They were able to hire live-in Irish servants, and by 1880 his parents also lived with them.[4] Their sons were Ewing (1868–),[5] Henry Jr. (1877–) and Harvey W. Watterson (1879–1908) and their daughters were Lady (1871–) and Ethel Watterson Gilmour (1880–1907).
Watterson became a newspaper reporter early in his life.[6] In 1856 he moved to New York to work on various publication, and in 1858 he moved to Washington to work on other publications.[2]
When his father returned to Tennessee in 1861 after the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War, Henry Watterson did too. He volunteered for theConfederate States Army, and was attached at various times to the staffs of GeneralsJoseph E. Johnston,Leonidas Polk andNathan B. Forrest. His main contribution to the Confederate war effort, however, was editorial, with theChattanooga Rebel and theNashville Banner. After the Confederacy lost, Watterson edited theCincinnati Evening Post for six months.[2] By September 1865 Watterson returned to Nashville, married, become editor and part owner of theNashville Banner, where he began his “New Departure” campaign urging national reconciliation.
Watterson ultimately settled down inLouisville, Kentucky, having metWalter Newman Haldeman during the war, and began editing theLouisville Journal. That paper merged with theLouisville Courier in 1868, forming theCourier-Journal. This paper soon gained national attention for its excellent reporting.[citation needed] Watterson was a leader of theLiberal Republican movement in 1872. By 1876 he was a Democrat; his proposal for hundreds of thousands of Democrats to march on Washington to force the election of Tilden angered PresidentUlysses S. Grant, who noted that nobody threatened Grant. Watterson was elected to fill the rest ofEdward Y. Parsons' term in the U.S. House when Parsons died in office.
Watterson was called "the last of the great personal journalists", writing colorful and controversialeditorials on many topics under the pen name "Marse Henry". Hundreds of American papers republished them; they were an early exemplar of the syndicated column which played a significant role creating public support for U.S. intervention in the First World War. Watterson won thePulitzer Prize in 1918 for two editorials supporting U.S. entry intoWorld War I ("Vae Victis!" and "War Has Its Compensations"), and he remained the paper's editor until 1919, retiring after conflicts withRobert Worth Bingham, who purchased the paper in 1918.
During his tenure as editor, Watterson was aDemocratic representative in Congress from 1876 to 1877. He was also a five-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention, where, in 1892, Watterson received a smattering of votes for the vice presidential nomination. He became widely known as a lecturer and orator. His publications includeHistory of the Spanish–American War (1899) andThe Compromises of Life (1902).
Watterson died inJacksonville,Duval County, Florida in 1921.
The portion ofI-264 from the junction withUS 31W to its northeastern terminus atI-71 is known as the Watterson Expressway.
AJefferson County Public School in eastern Louisville is namedWatterson Elementary School.
TheWorld War IILiberty ShipSS Henry Watterson was named in his honor.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Congressman, Kentucky 5th District 1876–1877 | Succeeded by |
