The first newspaper printed in North America, _The Boston News-Letter_
for April 24, 1704, was published by a Scot, John Campbell
(1653-1728), bookseller and postmaster of Boston. John Mein and John
Fleming, the founders and publishers of _The Boston Chronicle_ (1767)
were both born in Scotland. The paper was printed "on a new and
handsome type, a broad faced long primer, from an Edinburgh foundry,
and typographically far surpassed any paper that had appeared before
it in New England." David Hall (c. 1714-1772), born in Edinburgh,
emigrated to America shortly after 1740, became a partner of Benjamin
Franklin in 1748. He was printer of the _Pennsylvania Gazette_, one of
the few leading newspapers of the day, and one of the founders of the
St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia. His son, William (died 1831),
who carried on the printing business, was one of the original members
of the "Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia," afterwards known as
"The First City Troop," and served in the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War. Robert Aitken (1734-1802), born in Dalkeith,
Scotland, printer and publisher in Philadelphia in 1769, was publisher
of the _Pennsylvania Magazine_ from January 1775 to June 1776, the
first magazine in Philadelphia containing illustrations, most of which
were engraved by Aitken himself. He also published, at his own
expense, in 1782, the first English Bible printed in America. Major
Andrew Brown (c. 1744-1797), born in the north of Ireland of Scottish
parents, was publisher of the _Federal Gazette_, later (1793) changed
to _Philadelphia Gazette_. He is credited with being the first
newspaper man to employ a reporter for the debates in Congress. It may
here be mentioned that the publisher of the first directory of
Philadelphia and its suburbs (1782), was a Scot, Captain John
Macpherson (1726-92). James Adams, Delaware's first printer (1761),
was an Ulster Scot who learned the art of printing in Londonderry and
founded the _Wilmington Courant_ in 1762. Col. Eleazer Oswald
(1755-1795), of Scottish origin, though born in England, rendered
brilliant service on the side of the colonies during the Revolution.
In 1779 he became associated with William Goddard in the _Maryland
Journal_, the first newspaper printed in Baltimore. Later removing to
Philadelphia he issued the first number of the _Independent Gazetteer,
or the Chronicle of Freedom_, April 13, 1782, and at the same time he
also conducted in New York _The Independent Gazetteer, or New York
Journal_ (1782-87). The first daily paper published in Baltimore
(1791) was by David Graham. Alexander Purdie, a native of Scotland,
was editor of the _Virginia Gazette_ from March 1766 to December 1774.
Shortly after this date he started a Gazette of his own, and in the
issue of his paper for June 7, 1776, he printed the heraldic device of
a shield, on which is a rattlesnake coiled, with supporters, dexter, a
bear collared and chained, sinister, a stag. The crest is a woman's
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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