William Randolph Hearst | |
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![]() William Randolph Hearst in 1906 | |
Born | April 29, 1863 |
Died | August 14, 1951 |
William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863–August 14, 1951) was an important American newspaper owner who was born in San Francisco, California.
He was the only child of Phoebe Apperson Hearst, a former schoolteacher from Missouri, and George Hearst, a successful miner who became a multimillionaire and later a US Senator from California.
Hearst was a member of the US House of Representatives for New York between 1903 and 1907, as a member of the Independence Party, which he started.
Hearst was a media tycoon. He started a newspaper empire, which is now the Hearst Corporation. He became known for publishing sensationalist stories, which were often false or only very loosely based on the truth.
Hearst used most of the profits to build his own private palace, Hearst Castle.
The film Citizen Kane by Orson Welles is based upon the story of Hearst's life.
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