"Peerless Advocate: Dana's Chronicle"

Abstract

In July, 1865, William Buck Dana began to publish the Commercial and Financial Chronicle, in New York City. The Chronicle took for its model The Economist of London. Dana’s recognition of the importance of the telegraph, steam-ships and railroads as new means of conveying accurate and current information for the conduct of domestic and global business were crucial in the rise of his paper to preeminence among American commercial publications. Constant efforts to optimize the use of capital, maximize operational efficiency, stay abreast of and employ technological advances, and add useful features enlarged its value and success. These qualities and Dana’s singular attunement to the temper of his times and his readers assured that the Chronicle's primacy would linger long after his death in 1910.