Who was Gordon Bennett?

Tabby Tom

From Bill Bryson's 'Made In America': 'James Gordon Bennett, a newspaper baron, liked to announce his arrival in a restaurant by yanking the tablecloths from all the tables he passed. He would then hand the manager a wad of cash with which to compensate his victims for their lost meals and spattered attire. Though long forgotten in his native land, Bennett and his exploits - invariably involving prodigious drinking before and lavish rstitution after - were once world famous, and indeed his name lives on in England in the cry 'Gordon Bennett!', usually uttered by someone who has just been drenched by a clumsy waiter or otherwise exposed to some exasperating indignity'. Oct 15 02, 12:16 PM

Lily

James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald, was one of the richest men of his time. It was he who sent Stanley to find Livingstone. when Stanley himself disappeared on a relief expedition for Emin Pasha, Bennett sent someone to find him.He also sent an expedition to the Arctic to search for Franklin.Bennett also fought the last formal duel on US soil, and fled to Paris. when the transatlantic cable proved too expensive, he laid his own. Tiring of Paris, he took to a yacht, with a cow to provide fresh milk. By the end of the First world war, he was almost penniless.He had been told by a clairvoyant that he would die on his 77th birthday, and he did. Source Fergus Fleming. Ninety Degrees North.PS Fleming's Barrows Boys is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Oct 15 02, 1:09 PM

RickF

He was also an early sponsor of motorcar and aeroplane racing. There is currently a Gordon Bennett Cup for ballon racing Oct 15 02, 1:51 PM