By: Kayla Randall | Digital Editor, Museums September 18, 2026 On a late summer day in 1851, two ambitious men, Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, sat down to formalize a vision that would fundamentally alter the American media landscape. Raymond, a seasoned politician and co-founder of the Republican Party, and Jones, a pragmatic former banker, set out to launch a daily publication they dubbed the New-York Daily Times. Priced at a single cent, the four-page, 24-column folio was designed to provide something the hyper-partisan press of the era often lacked: a reliable, comprehensive, and principled account of the world. Today, as the publication marks its 175th anniversary, the “Daily” and the hyphen have long since vanished from its masthead, but the institution they built stands as a global titan of journalism. With a subscriber base exceeding 13 million, The New York Times remains, as it has for over a century, the definitive "newspaper of record." A Foundation Built on Principle The inaugural edition, published on September 18, 1851, carried a manifesto that remains startlingly relevant. Raymond and Jones pledged that their columns would be “free from bigoted devotion to narrow interests” and open to “every subject of public importance.” This was a bold promise in an era defined by scurrilous, opinion-driven broadsheets. The founders envisioned a paper that synthesized news, art criticism, and political discourse with “all the ability, care and knowledge” that their resources could command. This commitment to intellectual rigor and professional detachment set the Times on a trajectory to become the standard-bearer for American journalism. A Chronology of Impact: From Lincoln to the Moon Over the course of 175 years, the Times has occupied a front-row seat to the most transformative events in human history. Its archives are effectively a map of the modern age. The paper’s headlines have chronicled the monumental and the tragic: 1865: The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, a tragedy that hit home for Raymond, who was a close friend and biographer of the late president. 1912: The sinking of the RMS Titanic, where the paper’s coverage was lauded for its unprecedented speed and accuracy. 1945: The conclusion of the war in Europe, a victory that signaled a new geopolitical order. 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, capturing the seismic shift in the American civil rights movement. 1969: The moon landing, where the paper captured the collective wonder of humanity reaching beyond its terrestrial bounds. Each of these reports was not merely a record of the day, but a historical document that helped define the collective consciousness of the public. The Ochs Era and the Modern Ethos While Raymond and Jones laid the foundation, the Times underwent its most significant transformation under Adolph Simon Ochs. Having acquired the struggling publication in 1896 for $75,000, Ochs issued a mission statement that remains the paper’s moral compass: to provide news “impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect or interests involved.” This mandate was tested time and again. Perhaps the most defining moment of the Ochs-Sulzberger legacy arrived in 1971 with the publication of the Pentagon Papers. Despite immense pressure from the Nixon administration to suppress the 7,000-page report on the history of the Vietnam War, the Times stood its ground. A.M. Rosenthal, the editor at the time, later famously articulated the paper’s position: when faced with information essential to public understanding, the only question was, “How can we not?” Curating the Past: The Museum at the Times On the 15th floor of the Times headquarters in New York City, David W. Dunlap serves as the curator for the "Museum at the Times." A veteran of the paper since 1975, Dunlap manages a collection that serves as a visceral connection to the past. The museum houses the front page of the inaugural 1851 issue, which notably focused on the “Christiana Riot,” a violent confrontation involving fugitive slaves and their captors in Pennsylvania. Dunlap points out that while Raymond’s editorial stance at the time was complex—he condemned the violence while acknowledging the moral weight of the enslaved men’s convictions—the paper’s willingness to tackle such volatile, high-stakes subjects was an early indicator of its future editorial courage. Beyond the museum, the New York Public Library holds an expansive archive of the company’s internal life: memos, editorial drafts, and logistics that track how a fleeting idea becomes a front-page story. Manuscripts curator Meredith Mann notes that the collection is a vital resource for scholars and the public alike, documenting everything from the internal debates over coverage to the charming, human moments, such as a sharp-witted letter from Amelia Earhart correcting a reporter’s reference to her as "Mrs. Putnam." Navigating the Digital Transition The Times has navigated the transition from a print-centric daily to a 24-hour, global digital operation with remarkable agility. Sam Dolnick, a deputy managing editor who joined the paper in 2009, reflects on this evolution. “When I came, it was a print newsroom built around print deadlines,” he says. “Now, it’s a digital newsroom around the clock, around the globe.” The launch of The Daily podcast in 2017 marked another pivotal shift in how the Times delivers its reporting. It transformed the way reporters share their expertise, moving beyond the column inch into the auditory space, reaching millions of listeners who engage with the news in a more intimate, narrative format. Acknowledging Missteps and Accountability No institution survives for 175 years without errors. A crucial component of the paper’s contemporary identity is its willingness to confront its own failures. The museum and the paper’s public archives are open about past lapses, including the Times’ long silence regarding the Holocaust, its slow reaction to the AIDS epidemic, and the 2003 Jayson Blair scandal, where a reporter was found to have fabricated and plagiarized work. In each instance, the paper’s response has been to "correct the record." In the case of Blair, the Times conducted a massive internal investigation, reporting extensively on the deception to its readers. Similarly, the "Overlooked" obituary series acts as a corrective measure, honoring those who were ignored by the Times during their lifetimes. The Future of the Record As the Times looks toward its bicentennial, its business model has shifted from traditional advertising to a massive, direct-to-consumer subscription model. With over 13 million subscribers, the institution is, by many metrics, stronger than ever. The paper’s success—from the crossword puzzle that became a national obsession during the dark days of 1941, to the digital innovations of today—lies in its ability to balance the serious with the essential. By holding fast to the core values set by Ochs in 1896, the New York Times has managed to remain relevant in a world that has changed beyond recognition. For the staff members, curators, and editors who steward this legacy, the mission remains the same as it was in 1851: to witness history, to challenge the powerful, and to ensure that the public has the information necessary for a functioning democracy. As Dunlap puts it, the creed is not anachronistic; it is the vital, pulsing heart of the organization. 175 years later, the Times is still publishing, still evolving, and still, as promised, covering every subject of public importance. Post navigation The One-Day Capital: When Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Held the Reins of the Revolution
