The Hartford Times was a daily afternoon newspaper serving the Hartford, Connecticut , community from 1817 to 1976. It was owned for decades by the Gannett Company which sold the financially struggling paper in 1973 to the owners of the New Haven Register , who failed to turn things around leading to its closure in 1976.
19-471: The Times was a leading newspaper in Connecticut with the largest circulation in the state in 1917. It was started by Frederick D. Bolles and John M. Niles , a future senator, as an anti-federalist weekly by the name of The Hartford Weekly Times in 1817. It styled itself as a champion of reform and an advocate for the people throughout its history. One early editor was Gideon Welles , later secretary of
38-550: A reporter ; the television writer Robert Palm; the American painter , James Britton , employed as a staff artist; film critic Lou Lumenick , employed as a reporter and city editor of the Times' short-lived morning edition, The Morning Line; U.S. diplomat and speechwriter Robert Fagan, who worked as a reporter; and editorial cartoonist, Edmund S. Valtman , who won a 1962 Pulitzer Prize for his 1961 cartoon, " What You Need, Man, Is
57-518: A Revolution Like Mine ". The newspaper additionally owned Hartford radio station WTHT (1230 AM) from 1936 to 1954, and WTHT-FM (106.1) from 1948 to 1950. WTHT was merged into General Tele-Radio 's WONS in 1954 to resolving competing applications for channel 18 in Hartford, which signed on as WGTH under a General/ Times joint venture that lasted from 1954 to 1955. John Milton Niles John Milton Niles (August 20, 1787 – May 31, 1856)
76-538: A contributor for over thirty years. He published two other papers, the Gazatteer of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and The Independent Whig. He married Sarah Robinson on June 17, 1824. After her death on November 23, 1824, he married Jane Pratt on November 26, 1845. Niles became active in Democratic Party politics and a supporter of states-rights doctrines . In 1820 he was appointed an associate judge in
95-665: Is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut . The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each constituency containing nearly 22,600 residents. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits . The House convenes within the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford . The House of Representatives has its basis in
114-558: The Hartford County Court, but didn't start until 1821. He served until 1826 when he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives . Unsuccessful for reelection, he continued practicing law. In 1829 he was appointed Postmaster of Hartford, serving this position until 1836. He failed to be elected to an at-large Connecticut Representative seat. After the demise of Whig senator Nathan Smith , Niles
133-630: The Madison Square Presbyterian Church , a famous work of Stanford White . A series of murals behind the columns allegorize the motto, "News is an immortal bubble and the press endures within." The newspaper was purchased by the Gannett interests in early 1928. During the 1940s, the paper owned a radio station named WTHT . As late as the 1960s the paper had circulation over 140,000 but its last years were marked by rapid decline. Andrea Nissen, an assistant city editor at
152-704: The General Assembly. It was in 1698 that the General Assembly divided itself into its current bicameral form, with the twelve assistants (that replaced the magistrates) as the Council (which became the Senate in the 1818 constitution ) and the deputies as the House of Representatives, which began electing the Speaker to preside over it. The terms of representatives were raised to two years in 1884. The Speaker of
171-499: The House presides over the House of Representatives. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus followed by confirmation of the full House through the passage of a House resolution. In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker is also its chief leadership position and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. Other House leaders, such as the majority and minority leaders , are elected by their respective party caucuses relative to their party's strength in
190-510: The Navy during the Civil War. Alfred E. Burr led the paper for over six decades from 1829 until 1890, making it a daily and giving him considerable political influence statewide. In 1920 at the height of its success the paper commissioned architect Donn Barber to build a new headquarters, The Hartford Times Building . He salvaged six massive granite pillars and other architectural details from
209-445: The chamber. The current Speaker is Matthew Ritter of the 1st House District the includes part of Hartford . The Majority Leader is Jason Rojas of the 9th House District which includes part of East Hartford and part of Manchester . The Minority Leader is Republican Vincent Candelora of the 86th House District that includes part of Durham , part of East Haven , part of Guilford , and North Branford . Current members of
SECTION 10
#1732779787128228-483: The city of Hartford as a charity fund, the income of which he directed to be annually distributed to the poor. He was Connecticut's member on the original Republican National Committee in February 1856. Niles died in Hartford on May 30, 1856, at the age of 68 and is interred in the city's Old North Cemetery Connecticut House of Representatives Minority The Connecticut State House of Representatives
247-401: The committees with deputies; each town would elect three or four deputies for six-month terms. Although the magistrates and deputies sat together, they voted separately and in 1645 it was decreed that a measure had to have the approval of both groups in order to pass. The Charter of 1662 reduced the number of deputies per town to no more than two, and also changed the title of the legislature to
266-548: The earliest incarnation of the General Assembly, the "General Corte" established in 1636 whose membership was divided between six generally elected magistrates (the predecessor of the Connecticut Senate) and three-member "committees" representing each of the three towns of the Connecticut Colony ( Hartford , Wethersfield , and Windsor ). The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , adopted in 1639, replaced
285-518: The end of the administration in 1841. As Postmaster General he ended delivery of mail on Sunday. He returned to the Senate as a class three senator in 1844. He was actually elected in 1842 and was to start in 1843, but ill health and a credentials challenge kept him out until the next year. When he was a US Senator, in 1845, he cast the deciding vote admitting Texas to the Union as a slave state, though he
304-439: The time of the demise said: [We were] brevetted by incompetency. Constant changes in management vitiated the confidence of the community and of ourselves... I remember three or four different editors and publishers. There was little hegemony to spare and our leaders went as fast—and with equally devastating results—as Sherman through Atlanta." Several accomplished individuals contributed to the newspaper, including Brit Hume , as
323-575: Was a lawyer, editor , author and politician from Connecticut , serving in the United States Senate and as United States Postmaster General 1840 to 1841. Born in Windsor, Connecticut , Niles received a common school education and studied law . He was admitted to the bar in 1817 and practiced in Hartford, Connecticut . There, he also established a newspaper, the "Hartford Weekly Times" , in 1817, where he worked as an editor as well as
342-649: Was against slavery. He served from March 4, 1843, to March 3, 1849, and declined for reelection. Associating with the Free Soil Party campaign of his friend Van Buren in 1848, he became their candidate for governor in 1849 . He spent some time in Europe from 1851 to 1852. In his later years, Niles pursued horticulture. He had no children and bequeathed his library to the Connecticut Historical Society and left $ 70,000 in trust to
361-579: Was elected as a class one senator to fill his seat, serving from 1835 to 1839. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures in the 24th and 25th congresses . He was not a candidate for reelection. In 1839 and in 1840 he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Connecticut , losing to William W. Ellsworth . Appointed United States Postmaster General by President Martin Van Buren in 1840, Niles served until
#127872