A glimpse of the past

THE Manila Times first appeared on October 11, 1898, a few weeks after the Treaty of Paris took effect and the Philippines fell to American hands. Newspapers published here then were in Spanish and Filipino. The American community in the Philippines grew, and so did the demand for an English-language paper. Thomas Gowan, an Englishman, addressed that demand by founding The Manila Times.

George Sellner, The Times business manager, bought the paper from Gowan, and sold it to a group of American businessmen in 1902, then re-acquired it three years later. In 1907, Thomas C. Kinney bought the paper from Sellner.