New Hampshire Individuals of Note

William Loeb was owner/publisher of the Union Leader Publishing Co. from November 1946 to his death in 1981.  When purchased, the company published the only daily and Sunday statewide newspapers in New Hampshire.  Under Loeb’s direction the Manchester Union Leader had great influence over the political and economic life of the state.  William Loeb was an outspoken supporter of those causes in which he believed, the majority of which are considered very conservative.  In one editorial he spoke out against the growth of the minority population in the state.  He ran front page editorials denouncing those with whom he disagreed, often referring to them in derogatory terms.  He opposed any type of broad based tax for the state.  Loeb and the Manchester Union Leader supported Meldrim Thompson, a losing candidate for Governor in 1968 and1970 against Walter Peterson, a moderate Republican, who was supporting a sales tax.  The paper used the phrase "ax the tax," and called on candidates to take a "pledge" against a statewide sales or income tax.  Thompson won in 1972 and served three terms.  The legacy of this period for New Hampshire was a strong anti-tax movement and the need for candidates, including the Democrat, Jeanne Shaheen in 1998, to "take the pledge" against these taxes or face attack from the Union Leader.

Loeb supported other causes.  He was in favor of the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, whom he viewed as a defender of the safety of the nation from the evils of communism.  His anti-communism was seen in his support of the actions of New Hampshire Attorney General Wyman.  He was in favor of economic growth in the state and supported the efforts of Aristotle Onassis, a Greek shipping magnate, to build an oil refinery at Durham Point in 1973-4, which was defeated.  Loeb strongly supported the New Hampshire "first in the nation" primary.  The Union Leader is often credited with ending the presidential bid of Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine in 1972 when it published a letter, later shown to be false, that indicated Muskie had used the term "Canook."  The paper also insulted his wife.  Muskie, losing composure, lashed back appearing unpresidential, and his campaign lost momentum.  This and similar stories about the Union Leader under Loeb illustrate the power of the press in a democratic society. 

Today the Union Leader is still considered a voice for the conservative wing of the Republican Party within the state.  Several other New Hampshire papers now have Sunday editions and wider circulation.  Together with WMUR-TV in Manchester, these have eroded some of the influence of the paper, but it still remains a powerful voice in New Hampshire and still reflects Loeb’s views. With all of his influence on the state of New Hampshire, it is interesting to note William Loeb never had an official residence in the state.

Loeb’s father was Executive Secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt.  He gained wealth, and Loeb attended private school at Hotchkiss, Williams College (AB - 1927), and spent two years at Harvard Law School.  Before buying his first newspaper, the St. Alban’s Daily Messenger, in 1941, he worked for a Nationalist China lobby briefly, and managed family finances upon his father’s death.  Loeb spoke his mind clearly and forcefully. His personal life was full of conflict and apparent tensions.  He was sued by his mother for taking securities that he used to purchase newspapers.  His first marriage, to Elizabeth Nagy, a professor eight years his senior whom he married in 1923 while a junior at college, ended in divorce.  His second marriage to Eleanore McAllister, with whom he had a daughter, Katharine Penelope, also ended in divorce.  Loeb was sued for alienation of affections by George Gallowhur whose wife, Nackey, then left him.  After they were both divorced, Loeb and Nackey Scripps Gallowhur were then married in 1952 in Reno, Nevada.  William Loeb died of cancer on September 14, 1981.  His third wife, Nackey, followed him as publisher of the Union Leader.

WOK

Newspapers published by the Union Leader Publishing Co. in Manchester, NH, 1946-1981.

"William Loeb Obituary."  Union Leader, September 15, 1981.