Robert Wilson Patterson

Robert Wilson Patterson Jr. (1850–1910) was an American newspaper editor and publisher.

Early life He was born in Chicago, attended Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, and graduated from Williams College in 1871, and then began the study of law. His father was Robert W. Patterson, Presbyterian minister and founder of Lake Forest University.

Career

After the great fire in Chicago he became a reporter on the Times, later joined the staff of the Interior, and in 1873 became connected with the Chicago Tribune, of which he was successively assistant night editor, Washington correspondent, editorial writer, managing editor, and editor in chief. He was also president of the Chicago Tribune Company. Patterson lived in the Patterson Mansion, a Neoclassical 30-room home on Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., where he entertained many prominent people of the day. He died of a stroke while at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.

Family tree