Alden J. Blethen

{{short description|American teacher and newspaper owner (1845–1915)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Alden J. Blethen

| image = Alden J. Blethen - 1900.jpg

| caption = Photo of Blethen taken in 1900

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1845|12|27}}

| birth_place = Knox, Maine, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1915|07|12|1845|12|27}}

| death_place = Seattle, Washington, U.S.

| known_for = Editor in chief and owner of the Seattle Daily Times, 1896–1915

}}

Alden Joseph Blethen (December 27, 1845 – July 12, 1915) was a teacher and attorney who was editor-in-chief of the Seattle Daily Times from August 10, 1896 until his death.{{Sfn|Boswell|McConaghy|1994|p=95–96}} He was often referred to as Colonel Blethen.{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Blethen, Alden J. (1845-1915) |encyclopedia=HistoryLink.org |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/1681}}

Early life and education

Blethen was born in the town of Knox, Maine in Waldo County.{{Cite news |date=July 15, 1915 |title=EDITOR BLETHEN SUCCUMBS IN SEATTLE |volume=13 |work=Hanford Sentinel |agency=United Press |issue=29 |url=https://newspapers.com/article/hanford-kings-county-sentinel-editor-ble/132300733/}} He attended the Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female College (now Kents Hill School) beginning in 1864, graduating in 1868.{{Cite news |last=Cheever |first=Dave |date=June 6, 1999 |title=Kents Hill event honors family tie |page=A7 |work=Kennebec Journal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kennebec-journal-kents-hill-event-honors/132302856/ |postscript=;}} [https://www.newspapers.com/article/morning-sentinel-kents-hill-rite-honors/132302730/ "Kents Hill rite honors family bond"]. Morning Sentinel. p. A7. He received a Master of Arts from Bowdoin College,{{Cite news |date=1915-07-13 |title=SEATTLE MOURNS DEATH OF ALDEN J. BLETHEN |pages=1 |work=The Los Angeles Times |agency=Direct Wire |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-seattle-mourns-dea/132305405/ |access-date=2023-09-23}} then became a schoolteacher, teaching at the Abbott School in Farmington from 1869 to 1874.{{Cite news |date=October 14, 1997 |title=Seattle Times' owners and managers visit Farmington Public Library |pages=10B |work=Sun-Journal |url=https://newspapers.com/article/sun-journal-seattle-times-owners-and-ma/132302092/}} Later, he became a lawyer. At age 34 he moved his family to Kansas City, Missouri and purchased part interest in the Kansas City Journal, becoming one of the incorporators of the Kansas City Club.{{Cite book |last=Duggan |first=Jerry T. |title=A History of the Kansas City Club: 1882–1982 |publisher=Kansas City Club |year=1982}}

Newspaper career

In 1884 after little success in Kansas, he moved to Minneapolis and became part owner of the Minneapolis Tribune. For the next 12 years, he operated the paper successfully and began to be called "Colonel" for his service on the staff of two Minnesota governors.{{Cite news |last=Bone |first=Scott C. |author-link=Scott C. Bone |date=1915-07-18 |title=A UNIQUE FIGURE IN JOURNALISM |pages=3 |work=The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-tribune-a-unique-figure-in-journali/132304072/}}

= ''Seattle Daily Times'' =

In 1896 with others, he purchased the Seattle Daily Times, a four-page daily newspaper with a readership of around 4,000,{{Sfn|Boswell|McConaghy|1994|p=95–96}} and succeeded in turning it into a large newspaper, attaining much power and prestige in the Seattle community.

Death

At the time of his death, Seattle magazine The Town Crier wrote that "he was an editor whose personality pervaded the medium which he controlled."{{cite news |date=1915-07-17 |title=Colonel Blethen |volume=10 |page=3 |work=The Town Crier |issue=29 |format=JPEG |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Town_Crier,_v.10,_no.29,_Jul._17,_1915_-_DPLA_-_e7881577b733eee9e46bd2364cf7b8f7_(page_3).jpg |access-date=2023-01-24}}

After his death in Seattle, the newspaper stayed in the family: Alden J. Blethen (1896–1915); Clarance Brettun Blethen (1915–1941); William Kingsley Blethen (1949–1967); John Alden "Jack" Blethen (1967–1982);{{Cite news |last=Duncan |first=Don |date=April 29, 1993 |title=Jack Blethen, Former Times Publisher, Dead At 74 |work=The Seattle Times |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930429&slug=1698587}} Frank A. Blethen (1945–present). Clarance had sold 49.5% of the company's voting shares to Knight Ridder in 1929. McClatchy now owns the stake.{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Bill |date=May 20, 2008 |title=How the Blethen family lost 49.5 percent of the Seattle Times Co. |url=http://crosscut.com/2008/05/how-blethen-family-lost-495-percent-seattle-times/ |website=Crosscut}}