Moses Sperry Beach (October 5, 1822 – July 25, 1892) was an American newspaper owner, editor, inventor, and politician from New York. His papers were the Boston Daily Times and the New York Sun. He ran the Sun through most of the American Civil War, and was active during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
He was featured in Mark Twain's book The Innocents Abroad, after embarking on the Quaker City to visit Europe and the Holy Land. He was also a great friend of abolitionist pastor Henry Ward Beecher, and was a trustee Plymouth Church, which was at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement at the time.
Contents
Life
Beach was born on October 5, 1822, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was the son of Moses Yale Beach, proprietor of The Sun, and Nancy Day. His brother was Alfred Ely Beach, the first subway-constructor in New York, and proprietor of Scientific American, while his uncle was Benjamin Day, founder of the New York Sun. Another brother was banker William Yale Beach. His paternal grandmother was descended from the Yale family that founded Yale College, and his maternal grandmother was descended from Pilgrim William Brewster.
His cousins were Frederick Converse Beach and Stanley Yale Beach, and his great-grandson was Brewster Yale Beach. Beach attended Monson Academy, where he was taught by his uncle Rev. Alfred Ely. He left the school after several years due to his failing eyesight. In 1840, he spent a year in France learning French at an institution near Paris. He worked with his father in The Sun until 1845, when he bought half of the Boston Daily Times.