Alfred Horatio Belo

Alfred Horatio Belo (May 1839 – April 19, 1901) was the founder of The Dallas Morning News newspaper in Dallas, Texas, along with business partner George Bannerman Dealey. The company A. H. Belo Corporation, owner of The Dallas Morning News, was named in his honor.

Belo was born in Salem, North Carolina in May 1839. He was highly educated from an early age.

During the Civil War, Belo fought for the Confederacy. Belo was an officer in the Civil War for the North Carolina 55th Regiment. He was wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg and then again in the Battle of Cold Harbor.

At the end of the Civil War, Belo moved to the Houston area in search of job opportunities. He met newswriter Willard Richardson, who published the Galveston Daily News and the Texas Almanac (1857). This company was known as The News. Belo's intelligence led Richardson to ask him to become a partner, and the company was renamed Richardson, Belo, & Co. After Richardson's death, Belo became the sole owner, and renamed the company A. H. Belo & Co. in 1881.

Belo incorporated the newly invented telephone by successfully linking his home to the Galveston Daily News. The newspaper was recognized for taking advantage of the latest printing technology available at the time.

In 1885, Belo sent George Bannerman Dealey to Dallas to help establish a sister newspaper in that city. Dealey had been working his way up in the company since 1874, and Belo had confidence in him. He was given the title of business manager to oversee the creation of the newspaper (which formed the first newspaper chain.) The first edition was printed October 1, 1885. The building where the newspaper was headquartered made use of the city's first commercial electric lights.

The Alfred Horatio Belo Mansion in Dallas, Texas.

Belo married Nettie Ennis. They had a son, Alfred Horatio Belo, Jr., who married Helen Ponder, and a daughter, Jeannette Belo, who married Dr. Charles Peabody. They built the Alfred Horatio Belo House in Dallas, Texas one year before he died.

Belo died on April 19, 1901 in his family's summer home in Asheville, North Carolina. Belo had never fully recovered from his battle wounds and sought comfort and relief many months out of the year outside of Texas.