William Randolph Hearst Jr.

William Randolph Hearst Jr.
Born	(1908-01-27)January 27, 1908 New York City, U.S.
Died	May 14, 1993(1993-05-14) (aged 85) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Cypress Lawn Memorial Park
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Businessman, newspaper publisher
Employer	Hearst Corporation
Spouse(s)	Alma Walker ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1933)​ Lorelle McCarver ​ ​ (m. 1933; div. 1944)​ Austine McDonnell ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 1991)​
Children	William Randolph Hearst III John Augustine Hearst
Parent(s)	William Randolph Hearst Millicent Willson

William Randolph Hearst Jr. (January 27, 1908 – May 14, 1993) was an American businessman and newspaper publisher. He was the second son of the publisher William Randolph Hearst. He became editor-in-chief of Hearst Newspapers after the death of his father in 1951. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his interview with Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev, and associated commentaries in 1955.

Early life and education[]

Hearst was born on January 27, 1908, in Manhattan, New York City, to William Randolph Hearst and his wife, Millicent Willson.

Hearst attended the University of California, Berkeley and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.^[1]

Career[]

Hearst was instrumental in restoring some measure of family control to the Hearst Corporation, which under his father's will is (and will continue to be while any grandchild alive at William Randolph Hearst Sr.'s death in 1951 is still living) controlled by a board of thirteen trustees, five from the Hearst family and eight Hearst executives. When tax laws changed to prevent the foundations his father had established from continuing to own the corporation, he arranged for the family trust (with the same trustees) to buy the shares and for longtime chief executive Richard E. Berlin, who was going senile, to be eased out to become chairman of the trustees for a period. Later, William Randolph Hearst Jr. himself headed the trust and served as chairman of the executive committee of the corporation. Today, his branch of the family is represented on the trustees by his son, William Randolph Hearst III.

Hearst was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He makes a brief appearance in the musical adaptation of Newsies as Bill.

Personal life[]

Hearst was married three times. His first marriage was in 1928 to Alma Virginia Walker (December 20, 1906 Minneapolis – March 24, 1972 Monterey). The couple divorced in 1933. Later that same year, he married Lorelle McCarver (September 20, 1911 Cincinnati – December 14, 1999 Weston, Connecticut); they divorced in 1944. His third marriage was in 1948 to Austine Byrne McDonnell (January 28, 1920 Boston – December 15, 1991 New York City).^[2] They remained married until her death in 1991, and had two sons:

• William Randolph Hearst III (born 1949)
• John Augustine Hearst (born 1952).^[3]

References[]

• Washington Post; May 15, 1993; William Randolph Hearst Jr., Newspaper Editor, Dies at Age 85.
• Michael Cieply and Lindsay Chaney; The Hearsts: family and empire: the later years. ISBN 0-671-24765-4.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Randolph Hearst Jr..

• Guide to the William Randolph Hearst, Jr. Papers at The Bancroft Library
• William Randolph Hearst Jr. at Find a Grave