Holliday - John H.
Source: Barnard, Nancy -- Ball State University, 1980
Inducted 1967
John Hampden Holliday, newspaperman, financier and
philanthropist, was born on May 31, 1846, in Indianapolis,
Indiana, of pioneer stock.
His grandfather, Samuel Holliday, settled in Indiana in 1816,
the year the territory became a state. Holliday's father, the
Rev. William A. Holliday, was born in Harrison County, Kentucky,
in 1803. As an adult, William Holliday gained prominence as
minister of the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis. He
also served other churches in the capital and was a professor at
Hanover College, Hanover, Indiana, before his death in 1866.
Holliday's mother, Lucia Shaw Holliday, was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, in 1805 and died in Indianapolis in 1881.
John Holliday received his formative education in Indianapolis
public schools. He attended Northwestern Christian University
(Butler University) for four years, and in 1864, entered Hanover
College, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree. Three years
later, he earned a master of arts degree from Hanover. Wabash
College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, presented Holliday an honorary
doctor of law degree in 1916 in recognition of what by then had
become a wealth of professional and civic achievements.
Holliday saw brief service in the Civil War, enlisting in the
100-day unit of the 137th regiment of Indiana volunteers. He
attempted to re-enlist in the military but was rejected by the
medical examiner.
Holliday next tried his hand at law, but abandoned his studies
to enter the field of journalism, starting as a reporter for the
Indianapolis Gazette. During his career, he also served on the
staff of the Indianapolis Herald, the Indianapolis Sentinel, and
as correspondent for the Cincinnati Gazette, the New York Herald,
and two Chicago papers, the Journal and the Republican.
In 1869, at the age of 23, Holliday founded the Indianapolis
News, the first two-cent evening paper west of Pittsburgh.
Holliday continued at the helm of the News until 1892 when he
retired at the advice of his physician. In May 1893, Holliday
established the Union Trust Company (now part of Indiana National
Bank) and served as its president until 1899 when he resigned to
join William J. Richards in establishing the Indianapolis Press.
Holliday was editor of the Press throughout its brief existence,
for in 1901 the paper was consolidated with the Indianapolis
News. During his two-year association with the Press, Holliday
continued as a director of Union Trust. He returned in 1901 as
its president, stepping aside 15 years later to become chairman
of the board. He served in that capacity until his death on
October 20, 1921. Holliday was 75.
His survivors included his wife of 46 years, Evaline M.
(Rieman), and six children.
Journalistic Contributions
It was 65 years from the time Elihu Stout brought the first
printing press to old Vincennes in 1804 to the time of the
founding of the Indianapolis News by John Holliday in 1869.
In the beginning Holliday was owner, editor, and business
manager. As such, the young entrepreneur set certain guidelines
for his publication:
1. Advertisers would be entitled to know the circulation of
the paper.
2. It was to be a family newspaper, attractive to the mothers
and daughters in the best homes.
3. To this end, a poem would be published in every issue.
4. Crime reports would be free of all "salacious or immodest
details; the language of the report was to be chaste and free
from prurient insinuation."
5. All objectionable advertisements, whether personal,
medical, or lottery, would be excluded.
6. All advertisements should be advertisements, "never to
assume the form or guise of editorial paragraphs."
The News was both a pioneer and an experiment in the West. It
was low in price (two cents) and small in size (the copy was
condensed).
The first issue of the News consisted of four pages, six
columns wide, with each page measuring 15 by 22 inches. Early
subscriptions totaled 1,200 in a city the population of 48,500.
In December 1890, the paper was permanently doubled. The News
became an eight-page daily except on Saturday, when four
additional pages were printed. By Holliday's retirement in 1892,
the paper had 25,000 subscribers, and the population of
Indianapolis was approximately 105,000.
From the History of Greater Indianapolis comes this
description of the News:
Its plain makeup, condensed form and refusal to print
advertisements as editorial matter soon made it popular. It was
well edited. Holliday's editorials were plain, pithy and to the
point as a rule. His one failing was in not realizing how
important and valuable a paper he had established. One element of
the success of the News was employing the best writers available
in every department. The News could always boast of being well
written and well edited, and that has been a large factor in its
success.
Although a lifelong Democrat, Holliday sought to keep the News
politically independent which is not to say the paper was
neutral. The publication always had a cause. The News:
# Opposed the city lending public monies for the belt
railroad
# Advocated the city purchase of Garfield Park
# Led the agitation for the adoption of the first city
charter
# Was instrumental in the formation of the Commercial Club
(now the Chamber of Commerce)
# Led the fight for Consumers Gas Trust, the forerunner to
Citizens Gas Company
# Supported sound money and home rule
# Opposed a third-term presidency.
In the course of a signed editorial Holliday once wrote: "I
have tried to make the News fearless and independent, a defender
of the right as I saw it, at whatever cost; a worker for the
whole people, not for a class, faction or individual; an advocate
of good government and real progress."
For a period of 23 years after the date of its founding, the
News presented the best biographical sketch of John Holliday. The
paper represented the strong traits of his character without
being in any sense a personal organ. It catered to the best
elements in the community and had a loyal constituency.
On May 21, 1892, Holliday retired from the News. The day
marked the 6,981st issuer of the paper.
Other Contributions
Abraham Lincoln once stated, "In speaking upon civic life, I
believe a man should be proud of the city in which he lives, and
I believe he should so live that his city should be proud that he
lived in it."
It was said of John Holliday that it was impossible to think
of the philanthropist without instantly associating his name with
every worthy charity in the city. In fact, it would be much
easier to list the Indianapolis organizations and charities in
which Holliday did not participate than it would be to name those
in which Holliday did.
Holliday helped establish the juvenile court, the Summer
Mission, the Public Welfare Loan Association, the Immigrants' Aid
Association and the Foreigners' Home.
He served as director of the McCormick Theological Seminary of
Chicago, trustee of the Presbyterian Synod of Indiana, and as a
ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of
Indianapolis.
His many memberships included the Board of State Charities,
the Thomas post, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Commercial
Club (forerunner to the Chamber of Commerce), the University
Club, the Indianapolis Literary Club, the Marion County Council
of Defense, and the Scottish Rite, where Holliday was honored as
a Thirty-third degree mason.
He served as president of the Indianapolis Charity
Organization Society, the Board of Trade, the Indiana Pioneer
Society, and the Indiana Society of Sons of the Revolution. he
was treasurer of the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Red
Cross.
One of Holliday's more notable contributions was the gift in
1916 of his 80-acre White River country estate to the city for
use as a park.
To the Emmerich Manual Training High School of Indianapolis,
Holliday bestowed $25,000 in 1920 to establish a scholarship in
memory of his son, John H. Holliday, Jr. The younger Holliday, a
graduate of Manual, died during World War I while stationed in
Washington, D.C.
by Nancy L. Barnard
Ball State University, 1980