Rivington, James (1724-1803)

English-born American publisher. In 1773 he founded Rivington's New York Gazette. Initially, the Gazette generally sought to present both sides of issues. But in 1775 the plant was destroyed by Patriots and Rivington returned to England; in 1777 the Gazette resumed as a strongly pro-Tory paper, sharply ridiculing the Patriots and their cause, often with inaccuracy.

He was born in London. A prosperous English publisher, he emigrated in 1760, and ran a bookselling business in Philadelphia with branches in Boston and New York. After the American Revolution, his paper failed and he died in poverty.