Joseph R. Knowland

Knowland was born in Alameda, California on August 5, 1873, the son of Joseph Knowland (1833–1912) and Hannah Bailey Russell (1832–1921).[1] His siblings included two sisters, Sadie (1864–1905) and Lucille (1870–1926), and a brother, Hollis, who died in infancy. Knowland attended Alameda Park Street Primary School and Hopkins Academy, and graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1895.[2][3]

After college, Knowland joined his father's wholesale lumber and shipping business.[2] His business career proved successful, and ventures in which Knowland participated included: Gardiner Mill Company (president); Kennedy Mine & Milling Company (director); Alameda National Bank (director); and Union Savings Bank of Oakland (director).[4]

He was also active in several fraternal and civic organizations, to include the Freemasons, Shriners, Elks, Modern Woodmen of America, Native Sons of the Golden West, and California Landmarks League.[5] Knowland's memberships also included the California Centennials Council, California Historical Society, California Chamber of Commerce, California State Automobile Association, Oakland Chamber of Commerce, Oakland Community Chest, Mills College Board of Trustees, Oakland National Horse Show, and Athens Athletic Club.[3]

Knowland became owner, editor, president and publisher of The Oakland Tribune on 3 November 1915. He wrote, "It is perfectly understood that what it [the Tribune] does, rather than what it promises, will determine the true measure of its worth; and with this understanding, the Tribune, under its new control, girds to its work." Many years and court battles with Hermina Peralta Dargie (widow of owner William E. Dargie) passed before Knowland had full control of the Tribune. Knowland built the Tribune Tower, a city landmark at 13th and Franklin Streets. He had a great interest in restoring the California Missions. This had begun in 1903, with Mission San Antonio De Padua. He was a historical advisor during the 1927 California State Park Survey.

In 1932, Knowland went to Washington and persuaded President Herbert Hoover and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to advance $62 million for the completion of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. He created, with Bruno Albert Forsterer and Joseph Blum, the Franklin Investment Company in 1936 (later the Franklin Credit Union). In 1937, he attained the status of 33rd Degree Mason, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Knowland was a member of the Finance Committee of the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939–1940. In 1941, he authored California: A Landmark History. He was the political mentor of Earl Warren; from assistant Oakland City Attorney to Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Knowland served on the California State Park Commission from 1934 to 1960 and was chairman from 1938 to 1960. He was appointed by Governor Earl Warren as chairman of the California Centennial Commission from 1948 to 1950. Knowland was honored on September 9, 1951, by the City of Oakland and the State of California, with Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park in Oakland. He served as chairman of the Oakland Centennial in 1952, and the Alameda County Centennial in 1953.

Knowland was proud of the political career of his son, United States Senator William F. Knowland from 1945 to 1959, who served as Senate Majority Leader from 1953 to 1955 and Senate Minority Leader from 1955 to 1959. The only mistake that he felt that his son made was his 1958 run and defeat for Governor of California.

He attended his first Republican National Convention in 1904. He attended the GOP conventions as a delegate or newspaperman until 1964. Oakland became a one-newspaper city on September 1, 1950, when William Randolph Hearst closed his Oakland Post-Enquirer. The Oakland Tribune's radio station KLX began operation in 1921 and would be on the air until its sale in 1959.

Knowland met Elinor (Ellie) J. Fife (1873–1908) of Tacoma, Washington while they were students at University of the Pacific. Ellie was the daughter of Tacoma businessman W. H. Fife. Knowland and Ellie were married on April 2, 1894, in Tacoma. Three children were born to this union: Elinor Knowland Lion (1895–1978); Joseph Russell "Russ" Knowland, Jr. (1901–1961); and US Senator William F. Knowland (1908–1974). Shortly after the birth of William F. Knowland, Ellie Knowland died.

Joseph Knowland's second wife Emelyn in 1912

Knowland, a young widower with children, met Emelyn S. West (1884–1950) of West Lynne, Virginia. On September 28, 1909, they were wed in Chicago, Illinois. Emelyn Knowland was a loving stepmother and active in her husband's social and political life. Emelyn died July 14, 1950, during the California Centennial. Knowland's third wife, Clarice E. "Cookie" Cook (1902–1979), was an officer of the Native Daughters of the Golden West. Knowland and Cook were married on April 6, 1952, in Stockton, California. A shared interest in California history made a happy marriage for Knowland's twilight years. Knowland remained active in his old age and came each day to the Tribune.

On February 1, 1966, Joseph Russell Knowland died at 4:25 p.m. in his 25 Seaview Avenue residence in Piedmont. His wife Clarice with granddaughters, Emelyn K. Jewett and Josephine L. Church, were at his bedside.

On February 2, 1966, the Tribune's headline was "Joseph R. Knowland Dead". Joseph R. Knowland was praised by Republicans and Democrats. California Governor Edmund G. Pat Brown said, "Knowland, strongly believed in California...the State he loved so well." The public funeral of J.R. Knowland was held at the First Methodist Church and the private family service at Mountain View Cemetery Chapel in Oakland. He was cremated at Mountain View Cemetery Crematory and is inurned with his third wife, Clarice, in Serenity Section, Tier N-4, Number 3 at the Chapel of Memories columbarium in Oakland, California.[7]

• California Blue Book. Sacramento: State Printing Office, 1909.
• Gothberg, John A. "The Local Influence of Joseph R. Knowland's Oakland Tribune". Minneapolis Journalism Quarterly - 45, (Autumn 1968):487-95.
• Knowland, Joseph R. California: A Landmark History. Oakland: Tribune Press, 1941.
• Wyatt, Daniel E. Joseph R. Knowland: The Political Years 1899-1915. San Francisco, D.Wyatt, 1982.
• Joseph R. Knowland Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joseph R. Knowland.

• United States Congress. "Joseph R. Knowland (id: K000291)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Knowland Family at Political Graveyard
• “Selections from Oakland Tribune Archives,” by Annalee Allen, Arcadia Publishing 2006
• Finding Aid to the Joseph R. Knowland Papers, 1857-1966, bulk 1905-1960, The Bancroft Library
• Join California Joseph R. Knowland