Grady, Henry Woodfin, 1850-1889

Henry Woodfin Grady, journalist and orator, was born 24 May 1850, in Athens, Georgia, where he married Julia King on 5 October 1871. Grady worked as a reporter, editor, publisher, or writer (1870-1875) for newspapers in Atlanta and Rome, Georgia, and as a correspondent for THE NEW YORK HERALD (1876). While part owner and managing editor of the ATLANTA CONSTITUTION (1880-1889), he delivered his "New South" speech (1886) which established his reputation as a distinguished orator.He died of pneumonia on 23 December 1889.

Henry W. Grady served as manahing editor for the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s. A member of the Atlanta Ring of Democratic political leaders, Grady used his office and influence to promote a New South program of northern investment, southern industrial growth, diversified farming, and white supremacy. Grady County, created in 1905, is named in his honor. Jefferson Davis served as the president of the Confederate States of America. Davis was responsible for the raising of Confederate armies, the notable appointment of General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Virginia, and the encouragement of industrial enterprise throughout the South.

"Henry W. Grady, the "Spokesman of the New South," served as managing editor for the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s. A member of the Atlanta Ring of Democratic political leaders, Grady used his office and influence to promote a New South program of northern investment, southern industrial growth, diversified farming, and white supremacy... Henry Woodfin Grady was born on May 24, 1850, in Athens. His father, William S. Grady, a successful merchant who served as a major in the Confederate army, died in the fall of 1864 from wounds received at the siege of Petersburg, Virginia. Brought up after his father's death by his mother, Anne Gartrell Grady, young Grady showed talent as a writer and debater. After graduating from the University of Georgia, he briefly studied literature and history at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville before returning to Georgia in 1869 to pursue a career in journalism... Grady's attempts to affix northern interests to the city he loved were cut short by his sudden death in Atlanta on December 23, 1889." -- "Henry W. Grady (1850-1889)" New Georgia Encyclopedia. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org (Retrieved April 24, 2009)