William Penn Nixon was born in 1832 in
Newport, Indiana (now Fountain City). He descended from plantation owners and his father Samuel ran a successful business transporting goods across the
Blue Ridge Mountains in
North Carolina. Nixon attended private schools, then attended Turtle Creek Academy in
Warren County, Ohio. After two years, he studied for a year with his brother at Harveysburg Academy. Nixon matriculated at
Earlham College in
Richmond, Indiana, a Quaker school. He taught for a year after graduating, then attended
Farmer's College, near
Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in 1854. He studied at the
University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1859 after four years. Nixon returned to Cincinnati to open a law practice. A staunch
Republican, Nixon quickly became involved in county politics. He helped to reorganize
Hamilton County, Ohio, He was elected to the
Ohio House of Representatives to fill the vacancy of the deceased
George Keck in 1864. The next year, he was elected to a two-year term. He then retired from politics and toured Europe. He was appointed president of the Cincinnati Mutual Life Insurance Company when he returned. In 1869, Nixon co-founded the
Cincinnati Daily Chronicle. He initially served as its editor, but soon became its publisher and business manager instead. While in these positions, Nixon purchased the competing
Cincinnati Evening Times and merged the papers. He then sold his interest in the company. Following a merger of Cincinnati Mutual Life with the Union Central Life Insurance Company, Nixon sold his interest in that corporation as well, and moved to
Chicago, Illinois. Arriving in 1872, shortly after the
Great Chicago Fire, Nixon became associated with the
Chicago Inter Ocean. The paper had just been founded in March, and Nixon was appointed its manager that May. He held this position for four years, until he became general manager and editor-in-chief. He held this positions until his death in 1912. Although his position as leader of a Republican paper made him one of the most prominent party members in the city, Nixon declined to run for elected office. Nixon was president of the
Associated Press for several years. He was a delegate to the
1896 Republican National Convention. President
William McKinley appointed Nixon Collector of the port of Chicago. Nixon married Mary F. Stites in September, 1861, but she died the next spring. In June, 1869, Nixon married Elizabeth Duffield. They had three children: Mary Stites, Bertha Duffield, and William Penn. He was a member of the
Union League Club of Chicago and was a director of the Chicago Humane Society. Elizabeth Nixon served on the board of trustees of the Illinois Training School for Nurses. They enjoyed collecting books. His son became a traveling salesman for
Marshall Field & Co. Nixon died of a heart attack at his Chicago house on February 20, 1912. He was buried in
Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. ==References==