On today’s date in 1853, George Brown issued his first Daily Globe newspaper.

According to J. Timperlake’s 1877 book Illustrated Toronto, issue No. 1 of The Globe was issued on March 5, 1844.

“It was at first published weekly, the size of the sheet being very much less than that on which The Daily Globe is now published,” he wrote. “The subscription price was four dollars per annum, and when the edition reached a thousand the circulation was thought to be enourmous.”

In 1846, The Globe began being issued twice a week with the subscription price remaining as it was. Three years later, both tri-weekly and weekly editions were issued, the price of the former being $4 a year and the latter $2 a year.

1968 GEORGE BROWN STAMP

On Oct. 1, 1853, the first number of The Daily Globe was issued by Brown, who would later be commemorated on a five-cent stamp (Scott #484) issued by Canada’s Post Office Department (now Canada Post) in 1968.

The multi-coloured stamp depicts a portrait of Brown alongside the Prince Edward Island legislature and the front page of The Globe (known today as The Globe and Mail), of which Brown was the founder and editor. The stamp was set for release on Aug. 7, 1968 but its issue date was postponed until Aug. 21 because of the rocky relationship between the Canadian government and postal unions, which resulted in a postal strike.

In addition to his legacy in Canadian media, Brown is considered one of the Fathers of Confederation, helping the nation push passed its differences with a coalition government.

After being shot by a disgruntled employee at The Globe office in Toronto, Brown’s relatively minor injury (he was able to push the gun down) turned gangrenous and he died seven weeks later on May 9, 1880.