William Randolph
Hearst (1863-1951) 
William Randolph Hearst,
the man behind Hearst
Castle, is an important figure from the twentieth
century whose influence extended to publishing, politics,
Hollywood, the art world and everyday American life.
His power and vision allowed him to pursue one of the
most ambitious architectural endeavors in American history,
the result of which can be seen in magnificent grounds
and structures of Hearst Castle.
Mr. Hearst was born on April 29, 1863, in San Francisco,
California, as the only child of George
and Phoebe
Hearst. His
father being a wealthy man as a result of various mining
interests, young William had the opportunity to see
and experience the world as few do.
At the age of ten Hearst and his mother toured Europe,
gathering ideas and inspiration from the grandeur and
scale of castles, art and history. This experience fueled
Hearst's life long aspiration to recreate this majesty
for his own enjoyment.
Back in the United States, Hearst was enrolled in St.
Paul's Preparatory School in Concord, New Hampshire
at the age of 16. Mr. Hearst continued his education
at Harvard where he showed the first signs of becoming
a future publishing tycoon. At Harvard, he excelled
in journalism and acted as the business manager of the
Harvard Lampoon. His election to the "Hasty Pudding"
theatrical group revealed his talent and interest in
drama.
During his time at Harvard, his father George acquired
the San Francisco Examiner as payment for a gambling
debt. Soon after, the young Hearst pleaded with his
father to turn over the paper to his authority. In 1887
the older Hearst relented and relinquished control to
his ambitious son. Shortly after, William Randolph Hearst
purchased another newspaper, the New York Journal
which would become the second in a long list of newspaper
holdings that Hearst acquired in the next decade of
his life. At his peak he owned over two dozen newspapers
nationwide; in fact, nearly one in four Americans got
their news from a Hearst paper.
In 1903, Mr. Hearst married Millicent Willson in New
York City. The couple had five sons together during
their marriage: George, William Randolph Jr., John and
twins Randolph and David.
Their honeymoon drive across the European continent
inspired Mr. Hearst to launch his first magazine, Motor.
Motor became the foundation for another publishing
endeavor that is currently known as Hearst Magazines.
Hearst's interest in politics led him to election to
the United States House of Representatives as a Congressman
from New York in 1902. After reelection in 1904, he
unsuccessfully pursued the New York Governorship in
1906.
Following his short political career, Hearst continued
his endeavors in publishing and communications. In the
1920's he started one of the first print-media companies
to enter radio broadcasting and in the 1940's he was
an early pioneer of television. Mr. Hearst was a major
producer of movie newsreels with his company Hearst
Metrotone News, and is widely credited with creating
the comic strip syndication business. His King Features
Syndicate today is the largest distributor of comics
and text features in the world. In his career, William
Hearst produced over 100 films including, The Perils
of Pauline, The Exploits of Elaine and The
Mysteries of Myra.
In addition to his successful business endeavors, Mr.
Hearst amassed a vast and impressive art collection
that included classical paintings, tapestries, religious
textiles, oriental rugs, antiquities, sculptures, silver,
furniture and antique ceilings. Much of this collection
found its home at Hearst Castle and Hearst's various
other properties, while the remainder filled warehouses
on both the East and West Coasts. Like many of his contemporaries,
Hearst voraciously collected art and compiled a museum
quality collection.
Throughout his life, Hearst dreamed of building a dwelling
similar to those he had seen on his European tour as
a boy. Hearst Castle was to become the realization of
this dream as he and architect Julia
Morgan collaborated for 28 years to construct
a castle worthy of those he saw in Europe. During construction
Hearst used the Castle as his primary residence and
it was here that he continually entertained the elite
of Hollywood, politics and sports. Hearst left his San
Simeon estate in 1947 to seek medical care unavailable
in the remote location. While the Castle was never completely
finished, it stands as the remarkable achievement of
one man's dream.
William Randolph Hearst died on August 14, 1951, at
the age of 88. He was interred in the Hearst family
mausoleum at the Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.
All of his sons followed their father into the media
business and his namesake, William Randolph, Jr., became
a Pulitzer Prize-winning Hearst newspaper reporter.
Today Mr. Hearst's grandson, George R. Hearst, Jr.,
is chairman of the board of The Hearst Corporation.
Properties
• Babicora, a one-million acre cattle ranch
in Chihuahua, Mexico
• 270,000 acres at San Simeon, California
• Wyntoon, a 67,000 acre estate on the McCloud River in
Northern California
• St. Donat's Castle in Wales
• Commercial and residential property throughout the United
States
Publishing Holdings
| Newspapers
(listed by date of acquisition): |
Magazines: |
| 1887 San
Francisco Examiner |
American
Architect |
| 1894 New
York Morning Journal |
American
Druggist |
| 1896 New
York Evening Journal |
Connoisseur |
| 1897 New
York Morning Advertiser |
Cosmopolitan |
| 1900 Chicago
American (Evening) |
Good Housekeeping
(U.S.) |
| 1902 Chicago
Examiner |
Good Housekeeping
(England) |
| 1904 Boston
American (Morning) |
Harper's
Bazaar |
| 1904 Los
Angeles Examiner (Morning) |
Home and
Field |
| 1912 Atlanta
Daily Georgian |
House
Beautiful |
| 1913 San
Francisco Morning Call |
Motor
(His first, 1903) |
| 1917 Boston
Daily Advertiser |
Motor
Boating |
| 1917 Washington
(DC) Times |
Nash's
Magazine (England) |
| 1918 Chicago
Herald & Examiner |
Orchard
and Farm |
| 1919 Wisconsin
News (Milwaukee) |
Sports
Afield |
| 1921 Boston
Record |
Town and
Country |
| 1921 Detroit
Times |
The World
Today |
| 1921 Seattle
Post-Intelligencer |
|
| 1922 Los
Angeles Herald |
|
| 1922 New
York Mirror |
|
| 1922 Oakland
Post-Enquirer |
|
| 1922 Rochester
Journal |
|
| 1922 Rochester
Post-Express |
|
| 1922 Syracuse
NY Telegram |
|
| 1922 Washington
(DC) Herald |
|
| 1923 Baltimore
News |
|
| 1923 Fort
Worth Record |
|
| 1924 Albany
Times-Union |
|
| 1924 Milwaukee
Sentinel |
|
| 1924 San
Antonio TX Light |
|
| 1925 Syracuse
Journal |
|
| 1926 Pittsburgh
Sun-Telegram |
|
| 1927 Omaha
Bee |
|
| 1928 Omaha
News |
|
| 1929 San
Francisco Bulletin |
|
| 1931 Los
Angeles Express |
|
| 1934 Baltimore
Post |
|
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation
is one of the largest diversified communications companies
in the world. The corporation has interests in book,
magazine, and newspaper publication, broadcasting,
entertainment and syndication, and new media/technology.
In 1957 the Hearst
Corporation deeded Hearst Castle, the former
estate of publisher and film producer William Randolph
Hearst, to the State of California.
"Hearst Castle", "Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument", "La Cuesta Encantada",
and "The Enchanted Hill" are registered trademarks of Hearst Castle®/California State Parks.
©2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 California State Parks, All rights reserved.
|
