George Gough Booth
Encyclopedia
George Gough Booth was the publisher of the privately held Evening News Association, a co-founder of Booth Newspapers
, and a noted philanthropist
.
(who, in turn, was the older half-brother and one-time partner of E.W. Scripps). The Evening News Association at one time held newspaper and broadcasting properties located from coast to coast. During Booth's time, the ENA consisted of only the The Detroit News
and WWJ AM-FM
-TV
. It was eventually sold to the Gannett Company in 1985. Currently the MediaNews Group
owns The Detroit News.
With his two brothers, George founded the independent Booth Newspapers
, a chain spanning the southern half of Michigan
. That group was sold to Advance Publications
, a Samuel I. Newhouse property, in 1976.
(CEC) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
. In 1904, the Booths purchased the site of the present-day CEC as a place for their summer home. They hired noted architect Albert Kahn to design their country manor, Cranbrook House. As their country estate grew both in purpose and in scale, Booth had both noted architect Eliel Saarinen
and renowned sculptor Carl Milles
in residence for many years at CEC.
Booth was an avid student of the Arts and Crafts movement
and, together, brothers Ralph and George Booth were major benefactors of the Detroit Institute of Arts
.
Booth Newspapers
Booth Newspapers or BoothMichigan, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owns eight newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth along with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers is presently owned by Advance Publications Booth Newspapers or BoothMichigan, based in Grand Rapids,...
, and a noted philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
Publishing career
Booth got his start in the newspaper industry as the son-in-law of James E. ScrippsJames E. Scripps
James Edmund Scripps was an American newspaper publisher and philanthropist.Scripps was born in 1835 in London to James Mogg Scripps and Ellen Mary Scripps. His father was a bookbinder who came to America in 1844 with six motherless children. Scripps grew up on a Rushville, Illinois, farm...
(who, in turn, was the older half-brother and one-time partner of E.W. Scripps). The Evening News Association at one time held newspaper and broadcasting properties located from coast to coast. During Booth's time, the ENA consisted of only the The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
and WWJ AM-FM
WWJ (AM)
WWJ is Detroit, Michigan's only 24-hour all-news radio station. Broadcasting at 950 kHz, the station is owned and operated by CBS Corporation subsidiary CBS Radio. The station first went on the air on August 20, 1920 with the call sign 8MK...
-TV
WWJ-TV
WWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....
. It was eventually sold to the Gannett Company in 1985. Currently the MediaNews Group
MediaNews Group
MediaNews Group, based in Denver, Colorado, is one of the largest newspaper companies in the United States. It is privately owned and operates 56 daily newspapers in 12 states, with combined daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 2.4 million and 2.7 million, respectively...
owns The Detroit News.
With his two brothers, George founded the independent Booth Newspapers
Booth Newspapers
Booth Newspapers or BoothMichigan, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, owns eight newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth along with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers is presently owned by Advance Publications Booth Newspapers or BoothMichigan, based in Grand Rapids,...
, a chain spanning the southern half of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. That group was sold to Advance Publications
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse, Jr. It is named after the Staten Island Advance, the first newspaper owned by the Newhouse family...
, a Samuel I. Newhouse property, in 1976.
Philanthropy
Booth and his wife, Ellen Scripps Booth, founded the world-renowned Cranbrook Educational CommunityCranbrook Educational Community
The Cranbrook Educational Community, a National Historic Landmark, in the US state of Michigan was founded in the early 20th century by newspaper mogul George Gough Booth. Cranbrook campus is in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills consisting of Cranbrook Schools, Cranbrook Academy of Art,...
(CEC) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
. In 1904, the Booths purchased the site of the present-day CEC as a place for their summer home. They hired noted architect Albert Kahn to design their country manor, Cranbrook House. As their country estate grew both in purpose and in scale, Booth had both noted architect Eliel Saarinen
Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century....
and renowned sculptor Carl Milles
Carl Milles
Carl Milles was a Swedish sculptor, best known for his fountains. He was married to artist Olga Milles and brother to Ruth Milles and half brother to the architect Evert Milles...
in residence for many years at CEC.
Booth was an avid student of the Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
and, together, brothers Ralph and George Booth were major benefactors of the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
.
See also
- William Morris SocietyWilliam Morris SocietyThe William Morris Society was founded in 1955 in London, England.The Society aims to make more well-known the life and work of the Victorian designer, artist, writer, and socialist, William Morris and his associates. The Society's programmes involve branches in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the...