John S. Knight

John Shively Knight (October 26, 1894 – June 16, 1981) was an American newspaper publisher and editor based in Akron, Ohio.

John Shively Knight
BornOctober 26, 1894
Bluefield, West Virginia, US
DiedJune 16, 1981(1981-06-16) (aged 86)
Akron, Ohio, US
Resting placeRose Hill Burial Park, Fairlawn, Ohio, US[1]
EducationCornell University
OccupationNewspaper publisher & editor
Known forCo-founder of Knight Ridder newspapers & Co-Founder of John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Board member ofKnight Ridder, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated Press
Spouse(s)
  • Katherine "Kitty" McLain (married 1921 – d. 1929)
  • Beryl Zoller Comstock (married 1932 – d. 1974)
  • Mary Elizabeth Augustus (m. 1976 – d. 1980)
Children
  • John Shively, Jr. (KIA 1945)
  • Charles Landon II (1924–2000)
  • Frank McLain (d. 1958)
Parent(s)Charles Landon Knight
Clara Irene Shively
Awards

Early life and education

Knight was born in Bluefield, West Virginia, to Charles Landon Knight and Clara Irene Shively. Known to his family and friends as "Jack," he attended Cornell University but never graduated, leaving early to enlist in the Army. While at Cornell he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. However, he later received the degree of "War Alumnus."

Career

In 1920 he started at his father's newspaper, The Akron Beacon Journal,[2] as sportswriter, and moved up to managing editor before inheriting the paper in 1933. In 1923, Knight served as the fourth president of the Akron Host Lions Club. Beginning a nationwide expansion, Knight bought the Miami Herald in 1937. His national Knight Newspapers chain, headquartered in Akron, eventually also included the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Daily News, Charlotte Observer, Tallahassee Democrat, Lexington Herald and Leader, and Macon Telegraph.

During the latter part of World War II, Knight took a leave from the newspaper business, serving as Director of the U.S. Office of Censorship, in London.[3]

By 1973, his portfolio included fifteen newspapers. A year later, 1974, he merged his company with Ridder Publications to form Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc.

He co-founded what would become the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with his brother James L. Knight.

Honors and awards

Personal life

John Knight lost first his wife, Katherine, and then two of three sons at early ages. Lieutenant John S. Knight, Jr. was killed in action near Münster, Germany on March 29, 1945. [5] Youngest son Frank McLain Knight died at age thirty on March 9, 1958 following emergency brain surgery. [6]

In retirement, John Knight devoted much of his time to the raising of Thoroughbred race horses at his Fourth Estate Stable based in Miami.

Knight died of a heart attack in Akron.

Dedications

References
  1. "John S. Knight on Find A Grave". FindaAGrave.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. "John S. Knight blazed the trail and left a legacy". The Akron Beacon-Journal. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  3. "Biography of John S. Knight", OHIOLink. Accessed May 13, 2012.
  4. "John S. Knight's 1968 Pulitzer-winning editorials on Vietnam published on new site". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  5. The Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida) - April 20, 1945
  6. Hartford Courant - March 10, 1958
  7. John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford. Accessed November 21, 2017.

Further reading
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