John Peter Zenger
John Peter Zenger (October 26, 1697 – July 28, 1746) was a German printer and journalist in New York City. Zenger printed The New York Weekly Journal.[1] He was accused of libel in 1734 by William Cosby, the royal governor of New York, but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for freedom of the press.[2]
John Peter Zenger
October 26, 1697
July 28, 1746 (aged 48)
British
Newspaper writer
1720–1746
Zenger trial
In 1733, Zenger began printing The New York Weekly Journal, which voiced opinions critical of the colonial governor, William Cosby.[3] On November 17, 1734, on Cosby's orders, the sheriff arrested Zenger. After a grand jury refused to indict him, the Attorney General Richard Bradley charged him with libel in August 1735.[4] Zenger's lawyers, Andrew Hamilton and William Smith, Sr., successfully argued that truth is a defense against charges of libel.[5]
Early life[edit]
Peter Zenger was born in 1697 in the German Palatinate. Most of the details of his early life are obscure. He was the son of Nicolaus Eberhard Zenger and his wife Johanna. His father was a school teacher in Impflingen in 1701. The Zenger family had other children baptised in Rumbach in 1697 and in 1703[6]: 1202 and in Waldfischbach in 1706.[7] The Zenger family immigrated to New York in 1710 as part of a large group of German Palatines, and Nicolaus Zenger was one of those who died before settlement.[6]: 1123 The governor of New York had agreed to provide apprenticeships for all the children of immigrants from the Palatinate, and John Peter was bound for eight years as an apprentice to William Bradford, the first printer in New York.[8] By 1720, he was taking on printing work in Maryland, though he returned to New York permanently by 1722.[6]: 1124 After a brief partnership with Bradford in 1725, Zenger set up as a commercial printer on Smith Street in New York City.[9]
On 28 May 1719, Zenger married Mary White in the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia.[10] On 24 August 1722, widower Zenger married Anna Catharina Maul in the Collegiate Church, New York.[11] He was the father of many children by his second wife, six of whom survived.[12]
Legacy and honors[edit]
During World War II, the Liberty ship SS Peter Zenger was named in his honor.[22]
Zenger was a Madison, Wisconsin based underground newspaper that operated during the late 20th century.[23][24][25]
Zenger News is a wire service owned and operated by journalists.[26]
A ten foot high limestone statue of John Peter Zenger is mounted on the brick wall of P.S. 18 in the Bronx in New York City. The sculpture was created by sculptor Joseph Kiselewski.[27]