Henry Wright Marshall Sr. (January 29, 1865 – January 31, 1951) was an American businessperson and politician. He is known for being the founder of the Lafayette (Indiana) Journal & Courier, Speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives, and acting president of Purdue University.

Henry Wright Marshall
Acting President of Purdue University
In office
17 July 1921 – 1 September 1922
Preceded byWinthrop E. Stone
Succeeded byEdward C. Elliott
Personal details
Born(1865-01-29)January 29, 1865
Greene County, Ohio, United States
DiedJanuary 31, 1951(1951-01-31) (aged 86)
Lafayette, Indiana, United States
OccupationBusinessperson, politician, and educator

Biography

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Youth and Business career

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Marshall was born near Springfield, Ohio, and graduated in 1883 from Union Business College at Lafayette, Indiana. He began his business career as a stationery salesman. From the 1890s to the 1920s, Marshall was a founder or president of companies related to bridge construction, road paving, public utilities, railroads, and grain storage.[1] As president of the Western Construction Company, Marshall was indicted in 1908 when an employee overcharged the city of Indianapolis for a paving job.[2]

He purchased and consolidated the Lafayette Sunday Times and the Lafayette Morning Journal in 1914. In 1920 he merged them with the Lafayette Daily Courier to form the Journal & Courier, which remains the main newspaper of the Lafayette area.[1] The Evansville Courier was another Indiana newspaper company that he bought that year; he sold it to Mayor Benjamin Bosse a few months later.[3] Marshall continued to be the Journal & Courier's editor-in-chief for the rest of his life, although he eventually passed the title of publisher on to his son, Henry Marshall Jr.[1]

Politics and other activities

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A member of the Republican Party, Marshall served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1899 until 1905. In the 1903 legislative session he was that chamber's speaker.[1] Following his time in the legislature, Marshall continued to be active in state politics and was a delegate to state and national party conventions. In 1932 Marshall led a group that convinced the Indiana Republican convention to support the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.[4]

In 1921, Marshall was appointed to the board of trustees of Purdue University.[5] The university's president, Winthrop Stone, died in a mountain-climbing accident a few months later, and Marshall was chosen to act as president until a successor could be found. Marshall considered this twelve-month period to be a time of crisis and refused to accept any payment for his services.[6]

Chicago's International Livestock Exposition first elected Marshall as their president in 1933. They re-elected him sixteen times and he resigned in 1949.[1] By the time of his death in 1951, Marshall owned 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of farm land near his home in Lafayette, Indiana.[3][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Henry Marshall, Indiana Publisher: Founder of Lafayette Journal and Courier Dies". The New York Times. 1951-02-01. p. 25.
  2. ^ "Kosciusko County Asks Investigation: Citizens Point to Indianapolis As Example of What Can Be Done". Warsaw Daily Union. Vol. 4, no. 255. Warsaw, Indiana. 1908-07-01. p. 1.
  3. ^ a b "One-Time Owner of Evansville Courier Dies". Evansville Press. Evansville, Indiana. 1951-01-31. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  4. ^ "Republican Action Surprises Indiana". The New York Times. 1932-06-12. p. E8.
  5. ^ Johnston, Thomas R.; Hand, Helen (November 1940). The Trustees and the Officers of Purdue University 1865–1940. The Archives of Purdue. Vol. 1. Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University. p. 303.
  6. ^ Knoll, H. B. (1963). The Story of Purdue Engineering. Purdue University Studies. p. 68. LCCN 63-62507. Retrieved 2013-07-09.
  7. ^ "H. W. Marshall, 86, Indiana Publisher and Stockman, Dies". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1951-02-01.