John Binns (journalist)

John Binns (22 December 1772 – 16 June 1860) was a Dublin-born American journalist, the son of ironmonger John Binns (who died in a shipwreck aged about 30 in 1774) and his wife Mary Pemberton. A grand-nephew of Irish Patriot politician and member of Dublin Corporation John Binns, he and his brother Benjamin moved to London and became involved with the politically radical London Corresponding Society, closely aligned with the Society of United Irishmen. As a result of his activities he was imprisoned several times for treason but was released after a two-year term as part of a general amnesty. According to A Compendium of Irish Biography (1878),

"Soon after his release, in 1801, he emigrated, with his brother Benjamin, to Baltimore. In March 1802, he commenced at Northumberland, Pennsylvania, the Republican Argus, which gave him great influence with the Democratic party. From 1807 to 1829 he conducted, at Philadelphia, the Democratic Press — the leading paper in the state, until 1824, when it opposed the election of Jackson. Besides other works, he published in 1854 an autobiography. He died at Philadelphia, 16th June 1860, aged 87."