Paul Block | |
---|---|
Born | November 2, 1875
Königsberg, East Prussia |
Died | June 22, 1941 New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged 65)
Nationality | American |
Known for | Newspaper publisher |
Spouse | Dina Wallach |
Children | William Block Paul Block Jr. |
Paul Block (November 2, 1875 – June 22, 1941) was president of Paul Block and Associates (later Block Communications) and publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade. [1]
Block was born on November 2, 1875, to a poor Lithuanian Jewish family in Königsberg, East Prussia. [2] In 1885, his parents immigrated to Elmira, New York, where his father worked as a ragpicker. [3] Block attended Elmira public schools [1] and at the age of 10, he worked as a part-time newsboy and office messenger with Harry Brooks, the founder of the Elmira Telegram, where he learned the newspaper business. [3] In 1900, he left the Elmira Telegram and formed his own advertising rep firm which sold national advertising for client newspapers, Block Communications, [4] and is credited with pioneering the concept of national news advertising. He developed a close friendship and business relationship with William Randolph Hearst frequently serving as a frontman for Hearst's newspaper acquisitions [3] (Block's mistress Marion Davies would become Hearst's mistress and Block would later serve as Hearst's executor) [3] as well as purchasing several papers outright beginning with the Newark Star-Eagle and the Detroit Journal. [3] In 1926, he acquired the Toledo Blade and in 1927, he created the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. [5] He went on to own 14 papers. [3]
Block was a close friend of New York City mayor Jimmy Walker (often letting Walker use his apartment for liaisons with his mistress Ziegfeld Follies dancer Betty Compton) and president Calvin Coolidge. [3] Block also played a key role in advancing the career of future president Franklin D. Roosevelt by supporting his 1928 campaign for governor. [3]
Block was active in Jewish philanthropy and headed the 1931 campaign of the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies. [1]
He was married to Dina Wallach; [6] [7] they had two sons: [1] William Block and Paul Block Jr. Block died of cancer in 1941; [3] funeral services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. [1]
Paul Block | |
---|---|
Born | November 2, 1875
Königsberg, East Prussia |
Died | June 22, 1941 New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged 65)
Nationality | American |
Known for | Newspaper publisher |
Spouse | Dina Wallach |
Children | William Block Paul Block Jr. |
Paul Block (November 2, 1875 – June 22, 1941) was president of Paul Block and Associates (later Block Communications) and publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade. [1]
Block was born on November 2, 1875, to a poor Lithuanian Jewish family in Königsberg, East Prussia. [2] In 1885, his parents immigrated to Elmira, New York, where his father worked as a ragpicker. [3] Block attended Elmira public schools [1] and at the age of 10, he worked as a part-time newsboy and office messenger with Harry Brooks, the founder of the Elmira Telegram, where he learned the newspaper business. [3] In 1900, he left the Elmira Telegram and formed his own advertising rep firm which sold national advertising for client newspapers, Block Communications, [4] and is credited with pioneering the concept of national news advertising. He developed a close friendship and business relationship with William Randolph Hearst frequently serving as a frontman for Hearst's newspaper acquisitions [3] (Block's mistress Marion Davies would become Hearst's mistress and Block would later serve as Hearst's executor) [3] as well as purchasing several papers outright beginning with the Newark Star-Eagle and the Detroit Journal. [3] In 1926, he acquired the Toledo Blade and in 1927, he created the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. [5] He went on to own 14 papers. [3]
Block was a close friend of New York City mayor Jimmy Walker (often letting Walker use his apartment for liaisons with his mistress Ziegfeld Follies dancer Betty Compton) and president Calvin Coolidge. [3] Block also played a key role in advancing the career of future president Franklin D. Roosevelt by supporting his 1928 campaign for governor. [3]
Block was active in Jewish philanthropy and headed the 1931 campaign of the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies. [1]
He was married to Dina Wallach; [6] [7] they had two sons: [1] William Block and Paul Block Jr. Block died of cancer in 1941; [3] funeral services were held at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan. [1]