An American inventor and newspaper entrepreneur, Moses Yale Beach (1800-1868) contributed to the technology of his time but was, above all, an important developer of popular journalism.

Moses Beach was born in Wallingford, Conn., on Jan. 7, 1800, the son of a farmer. He was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker in Hartford, where his exceptional industry enabled him to earn his freedom at the age of 18. Beach set up as a cabinetmaker in Northampton, Mass., and in 1819 he married Nancy Day. His bent for technical innovation was strong, and after moving to Springfield, Mass., he began a strenuous campaign to achieve success. His experiments with engines powered by gunpowder failed. A plan to introduce steam navigation on the Connecticut River might have succeeded, but Beach's funds gave out. Most successful was his design of a rag cutter for paper mills, but he did not patent it in time and so lost...