Biography:

This prominent Pennsylvania newspaper was first published on Christmas Eve 1728 by Samuel Keimer as The Universal Instructor in all Arts and Sciences: and Pennsylvania Gazette. Keimer’s original intent was to print a page of Ephraim Chambers’ Cyclopaedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences in every issue; however, after nine months of printing he had less than 100 subscribers. On October 2, 1729, Benjamin Franklin and Hugh Meredith bought the paper and shortened the name to the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin and Meredith gained a reputation and a large subscriber base, and after Franklin was appointed postmaster, the paper overtook Bradford’s Mercury for the largest circulation in Philadelphia.
The partners separated in 1732, and Franklin began to publish the paper once a week rather than bi-weekly. The Pennsylvania Gazette published the first American political cartoon on May 9, 1754, with the iconic Join or Die image of a snake cut into pieces, referencing the colonies need to unite in the face of European power in the midst of the Seven Years War. The paper remained prominent in Philadelphia and is best known for its coverage of the precluding sentiment to the American Revolution, as well as its reporting on the war itself. The Pennsylvania Gazette ceased publication in 1800, ten years after Franklin’s death.