born Aug. 21, 1854, Mercer, Maine, U.S.
died Dec. 22, 1925, New York City, N.Y.
U.S. newspaper and magazine publisher.
He managed a telegraph office before moving to New York City, where he founded Golden Argosy (1882), later renamed Argosy Magazine ; and Munsey's Magazine (1889), the first inexpensive, general-circulation, illustrated magazine in the U.S. He acquired several newspapers in Baltimore and New York, some of which disappeared in profitable mergers. He viewed his publications purely as moneymaking enterprises and maintained colourless editorial policies. He left most of his large fortune to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.