Background
Ochs was born to a family of immigrants in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 12, 1858.
His parents were German immigrants.
Ochs was born to a family of immigrants in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 12, 1858.
His parents were German immigrants.
In Knoxville, Adolph studied in the public schools and during his spare time delivered newspapers. In 1871 he was a grocer's clerk at Providence, Rhode Island, attending a night school meanwhile.
At 11, he went to work at the Knoxville Chronicle as office boy to William Rule, the editor, who became a mentor.
At the age of 19, he borrowed $250 from his family to purchase a controlling interest in The Chattanooga Times, becoming its publisher. The following year he founded a commercial paper called The Tradesman. He was one of the founders of the Southern Associated Press and served as president.
In 1896, at the age of 38, he was advised by The New York Times reporter Henry Alloway that the paper could be bought at a greatly reduced price due to its financial losses and wide range of competitors in New York City. After borrowing money to purchase The New York Times, he formed the New York Times Co. , placed the paper on a strong financial foundation, and became the majority stockholder.
In 1901, Ochs became proprietor and editor of the Philadelphia Times, later merged in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, of which he was sole owner from 1902–12, when he sold it to Cyrus H. K. Curtis.
In 1928 Ochs built the Mizpah Congregation Temple in Chattanooga in memory of his parents, Julius and Bertha Ochs. Ochs was engaged in crusading against anti-Semitism. He was active in the early years of the Anti-Defamation League.
Ochs' reputation for conservatism rested entirely on his caution in accepting untested political theories; in journalism he was a radical, taking risks that appalled other publishers but by his fine judgment, especially in selecting his assistants, were consistently winning.
In 1884, Ochs married Effie Wise, the daughter of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise of Cincinnati, who was the leading exponent of Reform Judaism in America and the founder of Hebrew Union College. His only daughter, Iphigene Bertha Ochs, married Arthur Hays Sulzberger, who became publisher of the Times after Adolph died. Her son-in-law Orvil Dryfoos was publisher from 1961–63.