William N. Byers

William Newton Byers was born on February 22, 1831, in Madison County, Ohio. Trained as a surveyor, he worked across the Midwest and Oregon country before settling in Omaha, where he served as the Nebraska Territory's first deputy surveyor, sat on Omaha's first city council, and served in the first territorial legislature.

When reports of gold on the South Platte reached the Missouri River towns in 1858, Byers saw his opportunity not in mining but in print. Hauling a press across the plains, he beat a rival editor into publication by twenty minutes, issuing the first number of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver on April 23, 1859. The News became the voice of the Pike's Peak gold rush, and Byers its most energetic promoter: he published a guidebook for emigrants, trumpeted each new strike, escorted Horace Greeley to the Gregory diggings so the famous editor could verify the gold, and relentlessly boosted Denver over its rivals. Critics then and since have noted that his enthusiasm sometimes outran the facts, but his paper helped fix Denver as the region's metropolis.

Byers sold the News in 1878 after a personal scandal ended his political prospects. He remained a tireless promoter of Colorado enterprises, from railroads to the resort at Hot Sulphur Springs, and served as postmaster of Denver. He died there on March 25, 1903. Byers Peak and the town of Byers commemorate the editor who sold Colorado to the world.