Day, Benjamin Henry (1810-1889), founded the first successful “penny paper,” the New York Sun, in 1833. Day priced his little newspaper at one cent a copy and sent newsboys onto the streets to sell it. This made the Sun a novelty in American journalism. Day also attracted readers by emphasizing the human and dramatic element in the news. By 1836, the Sun claimed a circulation of 30,000, the largest in the world at the time. Day sold the newspaper in 1838. Day was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, on April 11, 1810. He died in New York City on Dec. 21, 1889. Day’s son, Benjamin Day (1838-1916) was a printer. He invented a process for tinting printed materials that allows for shaded effects. The process, seen often in comic books, uses small dots known as Benday dots.
