Rivington, James
- Carol Sue Humphrey
Extract
Rivington, James (17 August 1724–04 July 1802), journalist and newspaper publisher, was born in London, England, the son of Charles Rivington, a publisher, and Eleanor Pease. Following his father’s death in 1742, James joined his brother John in continuing the family printing business. In 1752 Rivington married Elizabeth Minshull. They had only one child, who died as an infant. In 1756 he entered a successful partnership with James Fletcher. However, Rivington enjoyed an expensive lifestyle that included gambling at the horse races. Gambling losses, combined with a number of lawsuits for illegally printing books, forced him to file for bankruptcy in 1760. Shortly thereafter, Rivington left for New York, hoping to retrieve his fortunes in the colonies....
