Show BEN FRANKLIN NOT FIRST contention made alade that new nev hampshire had the earliest periodical in the united states I 1 claim that the oldest periodical in the united states is the published weekly at portsmouth and founded in 1736 the next in age being the weekly mercury published at newport 1 II 11 1 L and founded in ili 1758 IT is benjamin franklin did not found the saturday beening g post or any ally other paper in ili 1728 the pennsylvania syl vanla gazette was founded in 1728 by samuel nelmer who did not make inake a financial success of it and sold it to Fi anklin it was first called the universal instructor in all arts and sciences and pennsylvania gazette in his autobiography franklin says of nelmer kelmer and the gadette ne ile began liis his paper however and after carrying it on three quarters of a year with ith at most ninety subscribers he offered it to me for a trine trifle and 1 I having been ready for sonic some time to go on with it took it in hand hall directly ail and it proved in afew a few nears ears ext extremely rumely profitable profit able to me samuel atkinson hinson At and charles alexander combined tile subscription lists of the Perin pennsylvania sylvanin gazette and the bee and issued the alist number of the saturday Satu iday post on august 4 1821 and the gazette and the bee went out of 0 existence forcer fore cr thomas cottrell clarke was thu the first editor of the post all old nes newspaper paper directories give 1821 as the year the rest post was established |