Charles de Young

Charles de Young (January 8, 1846 – April 23, 1880), along with his younger brother M. H. de Young, founded the newspaper The Daily Dramatic Chronicle, which became the San Francisco Chronicle, and was its editor-in-chief. He was murdered by Isaac M. Kalloch, son of Isaac S. Kalloch, the Mayor of San Francisco, in revenge for a feud Charles had with the mayor.[1]

Charles de Young
Photo of Charles de Young published by his friend Charles Warren Stoddard in 1907
Born(1846-01-08)January 8, 1846
Natchitoches, Louisiana
DiedApril 23, 1880(1880-04-23) (aged 34)
San Francisco, California
Cause of deathGunshot wound
NationalityAmerican
OccupationNewspaper publisher
Years active1859–1880
Known forCo-founder and editor-in-chief of San Francisco Chronicle
Parent(s)Miechel de Young
Amelia Morange
RelativesM. H. de Young (brother)

Early life and family

Charles de Young was born on January 8, 1846[2] in Natchitoches, Louisiana.[3] He was the son of Cornelia "Amelia"[4] (née Morange; 1809–1881) and Miechel de Young (died 1854), who married in 1837,[5] and the brother of Michael Henry "Harry" de Young and Virginia de Young (died 1875).[2] His family, who were Jewish, had immigrated from the Netherlands and France.[6][7] His maternal grandfather, Benjamin Morange, who served as the French Minister to Spain under Napoleon I,[8][9] moved to the United States about 1815[4] and helped found the B'nai Jeshurun Congregation in New York in 1825.[10]

Career

In 1859, he began publishing the Holiday Advertiser, a daily publication, while he was finishing his apprenticeship.[11] The interests were sold and in 1865,[12] he began publishing the Dramatic Chronicle with his brother, Harry. The daily paper was focused on theater gossip, advertising and light news. The revenue from the Dramatic Chronicle allowed the brothers to begin publishing the San Francisco Chronicle in 1869.[13] Charles focused on the content and editing of the paper, while Harry was responsible for the management of the paper on the business side.[12]

In 1874, de Young denounced San Francisco Judge Delos Lake, which led to the two meeting in California Street for a duel during the busiest time of day. Judge Lake shot twice at de Young, who returned the shots; neither was hit.[13]

He was proud of the notoriety he had obtained, and proud of the personal danger, as a legitimate element of that notoriety.

— De Young's obituary in The New York Times[12]

At the time of his death, the San Francisco Chronicle was worth $250,000 (equivalent to $7,581,000 in 2022).[13]

Assassination

In 1879, Isaac Smith Kalloch ran for mayor of San Francisco. It was not long before he came under attack from the San Francisco Chronicle's editor-in-chief, Charles de Young, who was backing another candidate. de Young, with the hopes of taking Kalloch out of the mayoral race, accused the minister of having an affair. Kalloch responded by accusing Charles' mother, Amelia, of running a brothel. In response, Charles de Young ambushed Kalloch in the streets of San Francisco and shot him twice. Kalloch survived the wounds and with the sympathy of voters was elected the 18th Mayor of San Francisco. He served from 1879 until 1881. On April 23, 1880, Kalloch's son, Isaac Milton Kalloch, entered the Chronicle building and shot and killed Charles de Young.[13]

Memorial

In 1884, de Young's brother, Harry, commissioned a bronze statue of Charles, erected at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in San Francisco which cost in excess of $10,000 (equivalent to $326,000 in 2022). The statue was sculpted by F. Marion Wells,[2] a member of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco.[14]

References
  1. McKee, Irving (August 1947). "The Shooting of Charles de Young". Pacific Historical Review. JSTOR. 16 (3). doi:10.2307/3635998. JSTOR 3635998.
  2. "IN MEMORY OF CHARLES DE YOUNG". The New York Times. April 14, 1884. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  3. Levy, D. Blethen Adams. "Michael and Charles deYoung". maritimeheritage.org. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  4. Markens, Isaac (1888). The Hebrews in America: A Series of Historical and Biographical Sketches. Harvard University. p. 26. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  5. University of Wisconsin - Madison (1974). Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly. Southern California Jewish Historical Society. p. 211. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  6. Adams, Charles F. (2005). Murder By The Bay: Historic Homicide In And About The City Of San Francisco. San Francisco: Quill Driver Books. pp. 59. ISBN 1-884995-46-2.
  7. Brechin, Gray (2001). Imperial San Francisco : urban power, earthly ruin (1st pbk. printing. ed.). Berkeley: University of California press. ISBN 0-520-22902-9. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  8. The Hebrews in America
  9. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times, Volume 7. Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Incorporated. 1942. p. 487. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  10. "105th Anniversary of B'nai Jeshurun Congregation Marked". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 14 December 1930. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  11. "CHARLES DE YOUNG". The New York Times. August 24, 1879. Retrieved 2 August 2016. When he had reached the proper age he was apprenticed to the printer's trade, but he learned even that imperfectly, beginning in business for himself before his term of apprenticeship had expired.
  12. "DE YOUNG'S THIRTY-FIVE YEARS". The New York Times. April 25, 1880. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  13. "CHARLES DE YOUNG KILLED: MAYOR KALLOCH'S SON MURDERS HIM IN HIS OFFICE". The New York Times. April 24, 1880. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  14. Certificate of Incorporation, Constitution, By-laws and Rules, Officers, Committees and Members. San Francisco, Calif.: Bohemian Club. 1904. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
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