Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (born June 24, 1842, Horse Cave Creek, Meigs County, Ohio, USA – date of death uncertain, possibly December 1913 or early 1914, presumably in Mexico) was an American satirist, critic, poet, short story writer, editor and journalist.

Journalism

In San Francisco, Bierce resigned from the Army and received the rank of brevet Major. He remained there for many years, eventually becoming famous as a contributor and/or editor for a number of local newspapers and periodicals, including The San Francisco News Letter, The Argonaut, and The Wasp. Bierce lived and wrote in England from 1872 to 1875. Returning to the United States, he again took up residence in San Francisco. In 1879–1880, he went to Rockerville and Deadwood, South Dakota, in the Dakota Territory, to try his hand as local manager for a New York mining company, but when the company failed he returned to San Francisco and resumed his career in journalism. In 1887, he became one of the first regular columnists and editorialists to be employed on William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner, eventually becoming one of the most prominent and influential among the writers and journalists of the West Coast. In December 1899, he moved to Washington, DC, but continued his association with the Hearst newspapers until 1906.

Related Topics:
Brevet - England - 1872 - 1875 - United States - 1879 - 1880 - Rockerville - Deadwood, South Dakota - Dakota Territory - New York - Mining - Journalism - 1887 - William Randolph Hearst - San Francisco Examiner - West Coast - 1899 - Washington, DC - Hearst newspapers - 1906

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The McKinley accusation

Because of his penchant for biting social criticism and satire, Bierce's long newspaper career was often steeped in controversy. On several occasions his columns stirred up a storm of hostile reaction which created difficulties for Hearst. One of the most notable of these incidents occurred following the assassination of President William McKinley when Hearst's political opponents turned a satirical poem Bierce had written in 1900 into a cause célèbre. Bierce meant his poem, written on the occasion of the assassination of Governor-elect William Goebel of Kentucky, to express a national mood of dismay and fear, but after McKinley was shot in 1901 it seemed to foreshadow the crime:

Related Topics:
Assassination - William McKinley - Satirical - Poem - 1900 - Cause célèbre - William Goebel - Kentucky - 1901

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:The bullet that pierced Goebel's breast

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:Can not be found in all the West;

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:Good reason, it is speeding here

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:To stretch McKinley on his bier.

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Hearst was (presumably) falsely accused by rival newspapers — and by then Secretary of State Elihu Root — of having called for McKinley's assassination. Despite a national uproar that ended his ambitions for the presidency (and even his membership in the Bohemian Club), Hearst neither revealed Bierce as the author of the poem, nor fired him.

Related Topics:
Secretary of State - Elihu Root - Bohemian Club

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