MassMoments reminds us this morning that founder of the American Antiquarian Society and Revolutionary activist,  writer, printer, publisher –  Isaiah Thomas was born on January 19, 1749 in Boston, Massachusetts.

      …in 1749, the Patriot printer Isaiah Thomas was born. In 1770, Thomas established the Massachusetts Spy, the first newspaper aimed at middle-class readers. While other papers were happy with 400 subscribers, the Spy had a circulation of 3,500. Thomas used the Spy to rally support for the cause of independence. Targeted by the British, he smuggled his press out of Boston to Worcester a few days before the Battle of Lexington and Concord. There, he continued publishing his newspaper. After the war, Thomas became the foremost publisher and printer in America. In 1812, he established the American Antiquarian Society, which today is one of the nation’s most complete collections of printed work.

 Masthead  of the The Massachusetts Spy, or, Thomas’s Boston journal, a newspaper founded by Isaiah Thomas in 1771 and published in Boston, Massachusetts.  This page is from the July 7, 1774 issue.

Read the full article here at MassMoments.