“One of the most brilliant and best-known newspaper men in the Middle West” is the tribute to David Byron Worthington, who died February 27, 1925.

He was an editor and publisher in Beloit for more than a quarter of a century. He was a pioneer journalist of the Middle West and West, and a man of tremendous energy with a magnetic and vivid personality. He came to Beloit in 1897.

His newspaper career, colorful with adventure, brought to this community a knowledge of a new order of life moving westward and a determination for progress. He was born October 10, 1863, at Wisconsin Rapids, and as a boy, newsdom fascinated him.

He gained his experience in the Dakotas, in Oregon, in Washington, and in California. In 1897 he came here from Chicago and purchased an interest in one of Beloit’s newspapers. He became the sole owner in 1912, and purchased a rival paper in 1915.

He was appointed postmaster in 1907, and with the responsibility of editorial duties and public service, eight years later he resigned that position.

He was a public speaker of great force, and a “Beloit booster.” His personality and driving energy for a city in which he had boundless faith was an inspiration to legions of residents who heard him speak and who read his written words.