The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of
The Topeka Daily Capital and
The Topeka State Journal.
Timeline • 1858: The
Kansas State Record starts publishing. • 1873: The
Topeka Blade is founded by J. Clarke Swayze. • 1879: George W. Reed buys the
Blade and changes its name to
The Kansas State Journal. • 1879:
The Topeka Daily Capital is founded by Major J.K. Hudson as an evening paper but changes to morning in 1881. • 1885:
Frank P. MacLennan buys the
Journal and renames it
The Topeka State Journal. • 1888: The
Capital absorbs the
Commonwealth, owned by
Floyd Perry Baker and his sons, who had earlier bought the
Kansas State Record. • 1899: Frederick Oliver Popenoe buys a 51 percent controlling interest in the
Capital. • 1900:
Charles M. Sheldon, saying "
Newspapers should be operated as Christ would operate them," sends the
Capital circulation skyrocketing from 12,000 to 387,000, forcing it to print papers in New York and Chicago. • 1901:
Arthur Capper buys the
Capital and becomes sole owner in 1904. • 1940:
Oscar S. Stauffer buys the
Journal. • 1951: Capper dies, and the
Capital become employee-owned. • 1956:
Stauffer Communications buys Capper Publications, including the
Capital. • 1962: Former MacLennan home
Cedar Crest becomes the Kansas governor's mansion. • 1973:
Brian Lanker wins the
1973 Pulitzer Prize for
Feature Photography for a series of photos of a childbirth, as exemplified by the image titled "
Moment of Life". • 1975:
Susan Ford (daughter of
Gerald Ford) and
Chris Johns (future editor of
National Geographic magazine) intern at paper during the summer. • 1981: Stauffer Communications merges the
Capital and the
Journal into
The Topeka Capital-Journal, distributed in the morning. • 1982: Former owner Oscar S. Stauffer dies at 95. • 1994: Stauffer Communications merges with
Morris Communications. • 2017: Morris Communications sells its newspapers to
GateHouse Media. • 2019: GateHouse Media's corporate parent company, New Media Investment Group, announces that it will acquire Gannett and assume its name. • 2023: The paper announces it's switching from carrier to mail delivery via the U.S. Postal Service. ==See also==