Robert Rutherford McCormick was born on July 30, 1880 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He was the grandson of Joseph Medill (1823-1899). He served as a Chicago alderman in 1904 and 1905, then became president of the Chicago Sanitary District Board from 1905 to 1910. In 1911, he was elected to be the president of the Chicago Tribune. He shared his duties of publisher and editor-in-chief with his cousin Joseph Medill Patterson (1879-1946). When World War I began, McCormick enlisted and volunteered to serve with the Illinois National Guard in France. He fought in the Battle of Cantigny and was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal. When he returned home, he went back to work at the Chicago Tribune. He established the Joseph Medill School of Journalism in honor of his grandfather. In 1925, his cousin parted ways and went to work with another newspaper company. This left the responsibilities in the hands of McCormick. During his time at the company, he established radio and television facilities, manufactured a greater number of newspapers, and increased the amount of paper mills. He remained with the newspaper until the 1950s. When he passed away, all his fortune was left to creating the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. He died on April 1, 1955 at the age of 74 and is now buried in the Cantigny Estate, Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois, USA.

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