Extra! Extra! Happy 137th birthday to the Lexington Herald-Leader

Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history - some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.

May 1, 1888 - About 140 years ago, the Lexington Leader (which would become the Lexington Herald-Leader) published its first issue.

Well, to be clear, the Kentucky Leader, one of many daily newspapers in Lexington in the late 19th century, started in May 1888 and became the Daily Leader in May 1895.

That paper was established by a group of Republicans who wanted to create an afternoon paper to compete with the Lexington Daily Press. The Daily Press was established in 1870 and went on to become the Lexington Press Transcript.

The Press Transcript started in 1895 and became the Lexington Morning Transcript then the Morning Herald, and finally, the Lexington Herald.

Those papers joined the Kentucky Gazette, the first newspaper published west of the Allegheny Mountains in 1787, and many others in bringing news to the wilderness.

Up until the early 1900s there were several newspapers in Lexington to choose from – the Lexington Weekly News, the Lexington Standard, even the Lexington Record. For nearly 240 years, there have been newspapers in Lexington offering up everything from news on politics and sports to fashion, recipes and gossip.

On May 13, 1895, the Kentucky Leader became the Daily Leader until it changed its name to the Lexington Leader in 1901. The Morning Herald changed its name to the Lexington Herald in 1904.

In 1937, Lexington Leader owner John Stoll bought the Herald and operated both of them until 1973, when the papers were purchased by Knight Newspapers.

On Jan. 1, 1983, the two papers merged into the Lexington Herald-Leader. In 2006, the paper was purchased by the McClatchy Company when it acquired Knight-Ridder.

Since combining, the paper has won three Pulitzer Prizes for investigative reporting, editorial writing and editorial cartooning. It has also been a finalist in six other Pulitzer awards.

Until its sale in 2006, that was a record for any mid-sized newspaper in the U.S. during the same time frame.

Today’s Herald-Leader newsroom, which includes our digital efforts on Kentucky.com, is proud of its rich history. And while the ways information is reported, published and shared has changed dramatically, the core mission of the Herald-Leader has not changed, said the newspaper’s executive editor.

“We pride ourselves on fair, fearless, revelatory, enterprising, analytical and in-depth reporting on the local issues that matter most to our readers,” said Richard Green, who arrived in the newsroom in September 2023.

“It’s an honor to lead this award-winning team, and we’re determined to be an even stronger positive force in Central Kentucky as we celebrate our next 137 years.”

Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com