When was the first issue of the new york times publised

1. How the Record of the First Issue Became the Standard Story

Contemporary historical accounts and institutional timelines identify September 18, 1851 as the date the first edition of the New‑York Daily Times was printed in New York City, naming Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones as the founders; this date appears in encyclopedic entries and anniversary retrospectives ^{[1] [7]}. Institutional histories such as the paper’s own archival notes and encyclopedia summaries present a continuous narrative from the 1851 launch through later title changes in 1857 and 1896; these sources corroborate the initial publication date while also tracking corporate and editorial shifts over the following decades ^{[3] [8]}. The evidence in these accounts is consistent across independent retellings, which is why the September 18, 1851 date is the widely accepted factual baseline for the paper’s origin ^{[2] [7]}.

2. Variant Presentations and Why Some Sources Omit the Exact Day

Some timelines and secondary summaries state 1851 as the founding year without repeating the specific September 18 date; this is common in concise timelines or overviews focused on long-term developments rather than anniversary milestones ^{[4] [5]}. Sources that emphasize the broader sweep of the newspaper’s history—such as multi‑decade histories or timeline summaries—tend to mark 1851 as the origin while reserving exact dates for anniversary pieces or archival entries ^[6]. There is no substantive contradiction in these presentations; omission of the day is a stylistic or space‑driven choice rather than a dispute over the factual date, and the detailed historical entries still anchor the launch to September 18, 1851 ^[7].

3. Founders, Name Changes, and Important Follow‑Up Dates

Primary historical accounts identify Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones as founders of the New‑York Daily Times, and they record the paper’s name‑shortening and ownership milestones as separate, later developments: the title was shortened in the 1850s and reorganized by new ownership at the end of the 19th century, notably Adolph Ochs’s acquisition in 1896 ^{[3] [5]}. These subsequent changes are often highlighted in corporate histories because they mark editorial and commercial turning points that reshaped the paper’s identity and business model; they do not contradict the original 1851 first issue claim but provide context for how the publication evolved into today’s New York Times ^{[5] [1]}.

4. Cross‑Checking Archives, Anniversary Pieces, and Reliability

Anniversary articles, archival indexes, and encyclopedia entries converge on the September 18, 1851 date; corroboration across multiple independent outlets increases confidence in the claim ^{[7] [3] [2]}. Where direct access to primary archives is restricted or returns errors, secondary authoritative summaries—academic timelines, history centers, and reputable retrospectives—serve as reliable cross‑checks and consistently reproduce the same founding date and founders ^{[4] [8]}. The uniformity of those independent records, spanning institutional histories and commemorative pieces, indicates a stable factual consensus rather than contested chronology ^{[1] [6]}.

5. Bottom Line: What to Cite and How to Phrase It

State the founding fact precisely: The first issue of the newspaper that became The New York Times was published on September 18, 1851, as the New‑York Daily Times, founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones. For concise references, citing anniversary histories or the paper’s archival summary is appropriate; for detailed research, pair those entries with corporate timelines that document later name changes and ownership transfers ^{[1] [3] [5]}. The documentation is consistent across independent sources, and the date is the accepted factual starting point for the newspaper’s continuous history.