John Leighton Stewart
John Leighton Stewart (August 12, 1876 - May 31, 1940) was a prominent American businessman and newspaper publisher of the Washington Observer and Washington Reporter newspapers in Washington, Pennsylvania.
John Leighton Stewart | |
|---|---|
 Close up of the John L. Stewart Tower | |
| Born | August 12, 1876 |
| Died | May 31, 1940 (aged 63) |
| Monuments | John L. Stewart Tower at McIlvaine Hall |
| Alma mater | Washington & Jefferson College[1] Harvard Law School[1] |
| Spouse | Margaretta Donnan Stewart[2] |
Biography
He was born in Bakerstown, Pennsylvania on August 12, 1876 to Reverend William G. and Jennie Wright Stewart.[1] He graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in 1899 and attended Harvard Law School.[1]
He and Ernest F. Acheson owned the Washington Observer and the afternoon Washington Reporter newspapers in Washington, Pennsylvania, which eventually merged to form the Observer-Reporter.[3] He was a trustee of Washington & Jefferson College and of the Washington Female Seminary.[4] He was a trustee of The Washington Hospital.[4]
He founded the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers Association.[4]
Death
He died on May 31, 1940.[5] His wife, Margaretta Donnan Stewart, took over control of the Observer-Reporter.[2]
Legacy
The John L. Stewart Clock Tower on the northwest corner of the McIlvane Hall at Washington & Jefferson College is named in his honor.[6] Before McIlvane Hall was demolished in 2008, the clock chimed to note the hour.[7][8]
Gallery
The John L. Stewart Tower at McIlvane Hall
The Observer-Reporter building in Washington, Pennsylvania
References
- Eaton, Samuel John Mills; Woods, Henry (1902). "Stewart, John Leighton". Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College. Philadelphia: G.H. Buchanan and Company. p. 539. OCLC 2379959. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
- "History of the O-R: The last 50 years". Observer-Reporter. August 18, 2008.
- Bradwell, Michael (July 21, 2002). "Still in the family after 100 years. Observer Publishing to celebrate century of family ownership". Observer-Reporter.
- Text on the John L. Stewart Tower at the former McIlvane Hall at Washington & Jefferson College
- "JOHN STEWART, 63, NEWSPAPER OWNER; Washington, Pa., Editor More Than 37 Years, Founder of State Publishers' Group, Dies ACTIVE IN CIVIC AFFAIRS County Red Cross Chairman Was on Board of Washington and Jefferson College". The New York Times. June 1, 1940.
- "McIlvaine Hall and Stewart Tower (1959)". U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives. Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2011-04-09. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
- Johnson, Terri T. (2008-07-18). "Bell tolling for tower?". Observer-Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. p. A1.
- Funk, Harry (2006-06-18). "Steeped in History" (PDF). Observer-Reporter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
Bibliography
- John Woolf Jordan; Thomas Lynch Montgomery; Ernest Spofford; Frederic Antes Godcharies, eds. (1914). "Stewart, John Leighton". Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography. Vol. 1. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. p. 295.