Moses Louis Annenberg (February 11, 1877 – July 20, 1942) was an American newspaper publisher who owned the Daily Racing Form[1] and the Philadelphia Inquirer.[2] He also owned General News Bureau, a wire service that reported the results of horse races.[1][3]
Moses Annenberg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Moses Louis Annenberg February 11, 1877 Kalwischen, Province of Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | July 20, 1942 (aged 65) Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.) |
| Occupation | Newspaper publisher |
| Spouse | Sadie Cecilia (Friedman) |
| Children | 8, including Janet, Enid, and Walter |
| Relatives | Wallis Annenberg (granddaughter) Lauren Bon (great-granddaughter) |
An immigrant who rose from a newspaper boy to newspaper owner, he was the father of TV Guide creator Walter Annenberg.
Early life
editMoses Louis Annenberg was born in Kalwischen, Province of Prussia (German Empire) in 1877 to a Lithuanian Jewish family. He left Germany and immigrated to Chicago in 1900.[4]
Career
editAfter starting out as a newspaper boy hawking papers on the street, Annenberg rose through the ranks, first as a newspaper salesman at the Chicago Tribune, later for the Hearst Corporation, which owned the Chicago American, the Chicago Examiner and the Chicago Herald, rising to circulation manager. Annenberg bought the Daily Racing Form in 1922 and The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1936. He also owned The New York Morning Telegraph, a broadsheet that was focused on entertainment and horse racing.
In the fall of 1934, Annenberg purchased the defunct Miami Beach Tribune, moved operations to Miami, and relaunched it as a tabloid called the Miami Tribune. In an asset swap involving cash, Annenberg sold it to John S. Knight, owner of the Miami Herald, for $600,000 and the Massillon Independent, a profitable newspaper based in Massillon, Ohio. The last edition was published on December 1, 1937, and then the Miami Tribune was absorbed by the Herald.[5]
The assets of his publishing company, the Cecelia Corporation (named after his wife) became the foundation of Triangle Publications, which was created in 1947 by his son Walter to hold his and his sisters' inherited assets.
Tax evasion case
editDuring the Roosevelt administration, he was indicted for tax evasion on August 11, 1939, for income tax evasion for the years 1932–1936, totaling $3,258,809.97 in income taxes evaded.[6][page needed] On April 4, 1940, Annenberg pleaded guilty to the 1936 income tax evasion count in the indictment that charged him with evading $1.2 million in taxes ($26.7 million today).[7][page needed]
Judge James Herbert Wilkerson, the same judge who previously sentenced Al Capone, sentenced Annenberg to three years in prison and a fine of $8.0 million ($174 million today) "the largest single tax fraud penalty in history" at the time.[7]
Personal life
editAnnenberg married Sadie Cecillia Freedman (1879–1965). They had one son, the publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg, and seven daughters;[8] Diana Annenberg (1900–1905), Esther Annenberg Simon Levee (1901–1992), Janet Annenberg Kahn Neff Hooker (1904–1997),[9] Enid Annenberg Haupt (1906–2005),[10] Lita Annenberg Hazen (1909–1985),[11] Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall (1911–2005),[12] and Harriet Beatrice Annenberg Ames Aronson (1914–1976).
Death
editAnnenberg was released from Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary prison on June 3, 1942,[13] and died at the Mayo Clinic on July 20, 1942, after having surgery for a brain tumor.[14] His Ranch A in eastern Wyoming is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
References
edit- ^ a b Smith, Richard Norton. "From Paperboy to Philanthropist". newyorktimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Wilkinson, Gerry. "The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer". Philadelphia Press Association. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
- ^ Shafer, Jack. "Citien Annenberg". slate.com. Slate. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ "Philanthropist Walter Annenberg Dies at 94 | PND | Foundation Center". Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2013.
- ^ "Miami Tribune Building in 1924". miami-history.com. The Magic City - Miami History. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- ^ Irey, Elmer L. (1948). Slocum, William J. (ed.). The Tax Dodgers. New York: Greenberg. ASIN B002DIUAAW.
- ^ a b Folsom, Robert G (2010). The Money Trail: how Elmer Irey and his T-Men brought down America's criminal elite. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1597974882.
- ^ "Descendants of Israel Annenberg". David Annenberg and Carole Freeman Family History and Genealogy Website.
- ^ Enid Nemy (December 16, 1997). "Janet A. Hooker, Philanthropist, Dies at 93". The New York Times.
- ^ Reed, Christopher (November 1, 2005). "Enid A Haupt: Philanthropist keen on gardens and youth". The Guardian.
- ^ Nemy, Enid (October 3, 1995). "Lita Hazen, Patron of Sciences, Dies at 85". The New York Times.
- ^ Wolfgang Saxon (May 1, 2005). "Evelyn A. Hall, 93, Arts Patron, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ [Moses Annenberg Released from Prison, The Journal Times, Racine, Wisconsin, June 3, 1942 https://www.newspapers.com/image/334154530/?terms=moses%2Bannenberg]
- ^ [Moses Annenberg, Immigrant Boy Who Made Fortune, Dies, The Daily Courier, Connellsville Pennsylvania, July 21, 1942 https://www.newspapers.com/image/38657274/?terms=moses%2Bannenberg]
Further reading
edit- Moses Annenberg's connection to Chicago's organized crime: Part 2 of 3
- Moses Annenberg's connection to Chicago's organized crime: Part 3 of 3
- Cooney, John E. The Annenbergs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.
- Cooney, John "Annenberg, Moses Louis" American National Biography (1999) https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1602545
- Fried, Albert. The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. ISBN 0-231-09683-6
- Johnson, Curt and R. Craig Sautter. The Wicked City: Chicago from Kenna to Capone. New York: Da Capo Press, 1998. ISBN 0-306-80821-8
- Reppetto, Thomas A. American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7798-7
- Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4
- Winter-Berger, Robert N. The Washington Pay-Off: An Insider's View of Corruption in Government. New York: Dell Publishing, 1972.