11 October, 1898

TODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY:

The Manila Times, the first daily newspaper in the Philippines, was founded by Thomas Gowan. The Manila Times was published to meet the demand of an American paper in Manila, demand mainly from men of the United States Army who had occupied Manila.

The newspaper was founded shortly after the news that the Treaty of Paris would be signed, ending the Spanish American War and transferring the Philippines from Spanish to American sovereignty. Gowan hired a small printing press, Chofre y Compania, to put up the paper. The printing press was located on Calle Alix, now Legarda Street, in Sampaloc, Manila. The paper, however, had a downtown office on the Escolta. At present, The Manila Times serves as the fourth largest newspaper in the Philippines in terms of circulation.

(Ref: Philippine News Agency)