Lucien Douglas Starke Jr. (October 26, 1868 – July 31, 1931) was an American newspaper publisher and attorney. He was the president and publisher of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. It continues today as The Virginian-Pilot, Virginia's largest daily newspaper.
Early life
Lucien Douglas Starke Jr. was born on October 26, 1868, in Norfolk, Virginia.[1][2] His parents were Tabitha Lucretia (née Pippen) and Lucian D. Starke.[3] His father was a lawyer, newspaper publisher, and a member of the Virginia House of Delegates.[3] His mother died when he was eight years old.[2]
In 1889, Starke joined his father, brother W. W. Starke, and William Bruce Martin in the Norfolk law firm of Starke & Martin, later known as Starke & Starke.[3][6][2] The firm's name changed to Starke, Venable & Starke and, then, L. D. Starke and W. W. Starke.[2] In November 1898, Starke was a founing member of the Norfolk and Portmouth Bar Association.[7][8]
In 1896, he negotiated the purchase of the struggling Norfolk Pilot for client, Albert H. Grandy.[1][4][12] Starke became treasurer of the newspaper's operating company.[12][4][2] The Norfolk Pilot merged with the Norfolk Virginian in 1898, forming the Virginian-Pilot.[10][4][13] Starke served on the newspaper's boar of directors.[13] In 1900, he was the secretary of the Virginian-Pilot, with Grandy as president.[14] Later, he became the newspaper's vice president and acting president.[4][2]
After Grandy died in August 1903, Starke became the newspaper's president.[1][12][2] He purchased his father's former newspaper, the Norfolk Landmark on January 1, 1912.[10][2][3] After practicing for law thirty years, Starke left the field in 1921 and became the publisher of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper.[15] Under his leadership, what had once been a small daily newspaper emerged as a metropolitan journal, with subscribers increasing from 16,000 to more than 48,000.[4][2]
Starke married Mary Bell White on June 4, 1903.[2] She was the daughter of Clementine Bell White and Major Lewis B. Bell.[12][20] They lived on a farm in Princess Anne County, some eight miles from Norfolk and close to Virginia Beach.[4]
In 1891, he was a founding board member of the Norfolk Union Mission.[21] He seerved on the board of the Ballentine Home and the Mt. Sinai Hospital Founation Fund.[2][22] He was a member of the Chesapeake Country Club, Norfolk Country Club, and the Princess Anne Country Club.[2] He attended St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Norfolk.[2]
Starke had a heart attack in July 1931.[2] Starke died three weeks later on July 31, 1931, in the Sarah Leigh Hospital of Norfolk at the age of 63.[15][1][12][2] He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Norfolk.[12][9]
^ abcdPowell, William S. (1994). "Starke, Lucien Douglas". Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Retrieved November 9, 2024 – via NCpedia.
^ abcdefghiAiken, J. N. (March 3, 1928). "Romances of American Journalism". The Editor and Publisher. Retrieved November 10, 2024 – via The Virginian-Pilot, August 1, 1931.
