Joseph Medill

Joseph Medill (April 6, 1823 – March 16, 1899) was a Canadian-American newspaper editor, publisher, and Republican Party politician. He was co-owner and managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, and he was Mayor of Chicago from after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 until 1873.

Early life Joseph Medill was born April 6, 1823, in Saint John, New Brunswick, British North America, to Margaret and William Medill. His parents were Scots-Irish. In 1832, the family moved to Massillon, Ohio. He grew up on a farm and was taught English grammar, Latin, logic and philosophy from Reverend Hawkins, a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canton. He graduated from the Massillon Academy in 1843. He read law under Hiram Griswold and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1846.

Early career Medill taught at this school in Navarre, Ohio, in the 1840s. After joining the bar, he started a law practice with George W. McIlvaine. They dissolved their practice after three years.

Political activity Medill was a leading Republican in Chicago. Under Medill, the Tribune became the leading Republican newspaper in Chicago. Medill was strongly anti-slavery, supporting both the Free-Soil cause and Abolitionism. Medill was a major supporter of Abraham Lincoln in the 1850s. Medill and the Tribune were instrumental in Lincoln's presidential nomination, and were equally supportive of the Union cause during the American Civil War. The Tribune chief adversary through this period was the Chicago Times, which supported the Democrats.

Medill was among Chicago's Protestant elites (see, WASP). His rabid anti-Irish sentiment was published daily in The Chicago Tribune. He regularly dismissed the Irish as lazy and shiftless. “Who does not know that the most depraved, debased, worthless and irredeemable drunkards and sots which curse the community are Irish Catholics?” This came even as Irish laborers worked feverishly to complete Chicago's stately St. Patrick's church at Adams and Desplaines Streets in the mid-1850s.

As mayor, Medill gained more power for the mayor's office, created Chicago's first public library, enforced blue laws, and reformed the police and fire departments.

During his mayoralty, Medill worked successfully to have the Illinois General Assembly modify the city charter to increase mayoral authority.

In his second year as mayor, tensions arose as he began to further utilize the new powers given to the mayor.

The stress of the job of mayor impaired Medill's health. In August 1873, he appointed Lester L. Bond as Acting Mayor for the remaining 3½ months of his term, and went to Europe on a convalescent tour. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Legacy and honors During World War II, the Liberty ship was built in Panama City, and named in his honor.

The Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University is also named in his honor.

Relations

The family tree omits Medill's third daughter, Josephine, who died in 1892.