George Gough Booth (September 24, 1864 – April 11, 1949) was the publisher of the privately held Evening News Association, a co-founder of Booth Newspapers (now MLive Media Group), and a philanthropist.

Biography

He was born on September 24, 1864, in Toronto to Henry Wood Booth. Booth got his start in the newspaper industry as the son-in-law of James E. Scripps (who, in turn, was the older half-brother and one-time partner of E.W. Scripps). The former had founded The Evening News (later The Detroit News) in 1878, later turning business control over to Booth. With his two brothers, George subsequently founded the independent Booth Newspapers (now MLive Media Group), a chain spanning the southern half of Michigan. He died on April 11, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Michigan.

Philanthropy

Booth and his wife, Ellen Scripps Booth, founded the Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan which has become one of the nation's highest ranked private schools. In 1904, the Booths purchased the site of the present-day CEC as a place for their summer home. They hired noted architect Albert Kahn to design their country manor, Cranbrook House. As their country estate grew both in purpose and in scale, Booth had both noted architect Eliel Saarinen and renowned sculptor Carl Milles in residence for many years at CEC. Booth was an avid student of the Arts and Crafts movement and, together, brothers Ralph and George Booth were major benefactors of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Legacy

Booth Newspapers (now MLive Media Group) was sold to Advance Publications, a Samuel I. Newhouse property, in 1976. Evening News Association was eventually sold to the Gannett Company in 1985. MediaNews Group currently owns The Detroit News.