Robert Sengstacke Abbott

Robert Sengstacke Abbott
Abbott circa 1919
Born(1870-12-24)December 24, 1870
DiedFebruary 29, 1940(1940-02-29) (aged 69)[1]
Resting placeLincoln Cemetery
(Blue Island, Illinois)
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Lawyer
  • Newspaper publisher
  • Editor
Years active1901–1940
Known forFounder 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)
RelativesJohn 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]

  1. ^ "Robert Sengstacke Abbott (1870–1940)". January 21, 2007.
  2. ^ "Chicago Defender – John Sengstacke". Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  3. ^ "Abbott, Robert S. – John H. Sengstacke Family Papers". www.chipublib.org.
  4. ^ "Robert Sengstacke Abbott-The Chicago Defender". www.pbs.org.
  5. ^ Rutkoff, Peter M.; Scott, William B (2004). "Pinkster in Chicago: Bud Billiken and The Mayor of Bronzeville, 19030-1945". The Journal of African American History. 89 (4): 15. doi:10.2307/4134057. JSTOR 4134057. S2CID 144348141 – via JSTOR.