Stephen H. Horgan

Stephen Henry Horgan (February 2, 1854 – August 30, 1941), was the inventor of the halftone process for newspaper usage, and early-on improvements.

A Scene in Shantytown, New York, Daily Graphic, March 4, 1880, the first newspaper photo printed using a halftone screen.

Biography

Stephen Henry Horgan was born in Norfolk, Virginia on February 2, 1854.[1]

The half-tone method he invented was to use a glass screen with fine lines in it which translated the gradations of an image when placed between a light-sensitive metal plate and a negative. The final image created was a metal picture made of black dots surrounded by white.[2] It is said that he was fired from that job by Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who described the idea as idiotic. Horgan then went over to their rival, The Daily Graphic. His Santytown scene was printed by them in 1880. It was the first using a halftone screen.

(Daily Graphic debuted half-tone printing with the first printed photograph of an image of Steinway Hall in Manhattan published on December 2, 1873).[3][4]

Horgan was the first to create a newspaper image with a rotary/power press. He was then working for the New-York Tribune in 1897.[5] This major breakthrough, brought about the rapid increase of illustrations in dailies.

Horgan received the AIGA medal in 1924 for his invention.[6]

References
  1. Gross, Ernie; Jr, Roland H. Worth (2001-01-30). This Day in American History, 4th ed. McFarland. ISBN 9780786448395.
  2. Sloan, W. David; Parcell, Lisa Mullikin (2002-04-10). American Journalism: History, Principles, Practices. McFarland. ISBN 9780786413713.
  3. Douglas, Ava. "Stephen H. Horgan | History of Graphic Design". www.historygraphicdesign.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  4. Current Biography 1941, p. 408
  5. New-York Tribune, January 21, 1897 p. 1. Image of Thomas Platt.
  6. "AIGA Medalists List". AIGA | the professional association for design. Retrieved 2016-11-29.


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