Robert Rutherford McCormick (1880-1955), American publisher, was the head of the multimillion-dollar Tribune Company and an "America First" patriot.

Robert R. McCormick was born on July 30, 1880, in Chicago, the scion of two illustrious families. His father was the first American ambassador to Austria-Hungary; his mother was the daughter of Joseph Medill, a founder of the Republican party.

Young McCormick went to school in England while his father was an attaché in London. He graduated from Yale University in 1903. He studied law at Northwestern University. In 1904 he was elected alderman and served on the Chicago City Council for 2 years. When he was 25, McCormick was elected head of the Chicago Sanitary District Board. He was admitted to the bar in 1907. His political career came to an end in 1910 when he took over the Chicago Tribune, which his maternal grandfather had controlled. McCormick became a colonel during World War I...