Joseph Gales
| Joseph Gales, Jr | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
June 15, 1786 Eckington, Derbyshire |
| Died | June 21, 1860 (aged 74) Washington DC |
| Resting place | Congressional Cemetery |
| Nationality | British/American |
| Occupation | Printer/Publisher/Reporter National Intelligencer |
| Known for | Mayor of Washington D.C., Founded St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square |
Joseph Gales, Jr. (1786 – July 21, 1860) was an American journalist and the ninth mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1827 to 1830.
Joseph Gales, Jr was born in Eckington, Derbyshire, England. His father, Joseph Gales, Sr. (1760–1841), was a printer in Sheffield, who was compelled to emigrate to America in 1795 because of his republican principles. After living in Philadelphia from 1795 to 1799 where the elder Gales transcribed the debates in Congress and owned the Independent Gazetteer, he moved with his family to Raleigh, North Carolina. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in 1807 settled in Washington, where he became the assistant and partner of Samuel Harrison Smith in the publication of the National Intelligencer. In 1810 Gales became sole proprietor of the journal and made it a triweekly publication, and in 1813, having previously formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, William Winston Seaton, the paper was issued daily and so continued until 1867 (after the deaths of both publishers).
For many years Gales and Seaton were the official printers to Congress, and the files of the National Intelligencer, containing a running account of the debates in both Houses, are one of the most valuable sources of United States congressional history for more than a quarter of a century. Under the title of Annals of Congress, Gales and Seaton published (1834–56, in 42 volumes) the debates in Congress from 1798 to 1824, together with the more important documents and laws, and under the title of Register of Debates in Congress (29 volumes) continued the publication in similar form to cover the years (1824–37). Gales was long the sole reporter on the U.S. Senate.
...
Wikipedia