Moses Yale Beach

Notable work and positions

The Sun (New York) — Sole Proprietor and Publisher (1838–1849)
New York Associated Press — Founder (1846)

Biography

Moses Yale Beach (January 15, 1800 – July 19, 1868) was an American inventor and newspaper publisher credited with founding the Associated Press and originating print syndication. Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, he was apprenticed as a cabinetmaker before working as an inventor, designing a rag-cutting machine for paper mills and attempting steam navigation on the Connecticut River. He married Nancy Day, sister of Benjamin Day, founder of the New York penny newspaper The Sun. Beach acquired an interest in The Sun in 1835 and became its sole proprietor in 1838, building it into America's most successful newspaper through innovations including the use of carrier pigeons and express riders to speed the delivery of breaking news. During the Mexican–American War, he helped found the New York Associated Press in May 1846, joined by the New York Herald, journals of commerce, and other New York papers, to coordinate and share war coverage among competing publishers. In 1846 President John Tyler named him a special diplomatic agent to Mexico. He published the pamphlet The Wealth and Biography of the Wealthy Citizens of New York, launched the Weekly Sun and, in 1848, the American Sun, one of the first American papers distributed directly in Europe. He retired to Wallingford in 1848, handing The Sun to his sons Moses Sperry Beach and Alfred Ely Beach, and died there in 1868.