Robert Sengstacke Abbott | |
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Born | St. Simons, Georgia, U.S. | December 24, 1870
Died | February 29, 1940[1] Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 69)
Resting place | Lincoln Cemetery (Blue Island, Illinois) |
Alma mater | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1901–1940 |
Known for | Founder and publisher of The Chicago Defender newspaper and the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic |
Spouses | Helen Thornton Morrison
(m. 1918; div. 1933)Edna Brown Denison (m. 1934) |
Relatives | John H. Sengstacke (nephew)[2][3] Robert A. Sengstacke (great–nephew) |
Robert Sengstacke Abbott (December 24, 1870 – February 29, 1940)[4] was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and editor. Abbott founded The Chicago Defender in 1905, which grew to have the highest circulation of any black-owned newspaper in the country.
Abbott founded the Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic in August 1929. The parade, which has developed into a celebration for youth, education and African–American life in Chicago, Illinois, is the second largest parade in the United States.[5]