Joseph Ignatius Constantine Clarke

Joseph Ignatius Constantine Clarke (31 July 1846 – 27 February 1927) was an Irish American newspaperman, poet, playwright, writer and Irish nationalist.

Career

Clarke was born in Kingstown, now called Dún Laoghaire, the port of County Dublin. The family moved to London, when he was twelve years old. He worked as a clerk in the Board of Trade. In 1868, for patriotic motives he resigned and went to Paris and then emigrated to America. In the USA Clarke became a noted journalist and playwright. He was the assistant editor of the Irish Times (1868–70) and then joined the New York Herald. While at the Herald, he authored the 1874 Central Park Zoo Escape hoax under the direction of managing editor Thomas B. Connery.^[1] He was the managing editor of the New York Morning Journal from 1883–95, editor of the Criterion from 1898–1900 and of the Sunday edition of the New York Herald from 1903-1906.

A member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, he wrote Robert Emmet: A Tragedy of Irish History (1888), which told of Emmet's life. He wrote various plays and published poetry.He also wrote a biography of his life named "My Life and Memories" which details his life in detail. It was published by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1925.

His friendship with the Japanese chemist Jokichi Takamine was reflected in a deep interest in the country. After visiting Japan in 1914 he published Japan at First Hand (Dodd, Mead, New York 1918) and he co wrote The Imperial Japanese Mission, 1917.

References