Arthur Brisbane

American journalist

Arthur Brisbane (December 12, 1864 – December 25, 1936) was one of the best known American newspaper editors of the 20th century as well as a real estate investor.

Brisbane was born in Buffalo, New York, to Albert Brisbane (1809 1890), an American utopian socialist who is remembered as the chief popularizer of the theories of Charles Fourier in the United States. Albert was the author of several books, including Social Destiny of Man (1840), as well as the Fourierist periodical The Phalanx. He also founded the Fourierist Society in New York in 1839 and backed several other phalanx communes in the 1840s and 1850s. Arthur was educated in the United States and Europe.

With Hearst, he formed Hearst Brisbane Properties, investing heavily in New York real estate and developing projects such as the Ziegfeld Theatre, the Warwick Hotel, and the Ritz Tower. He was instrumental in preserving a large section of land he had amassed in central New Jersey along the Jersey Shore between 1907 and 1936. It was here that Brisbane built his dream house, a palatial mansion for its time, adjacent to a lake, and complete with a library tower. It was also here that Brisbane and his family could enjoy their favorite sport – horse back riding. Brisbane transformed the Allaire area from a near deserted village to a luxurious country estate, complete with a state of the art horse farm, "Allaire Inn," toy factory, a camp for Boy Scouts, and training grounds during the war years. He used his professional connections to bring silent film companies to his property at Allaire, which was used as a backdrop. He even opened up his estate during the Great Depression to "New Deal" work programs. Brisbane and his family realized enjoyment at Allaire and considered it his final abode. He employed a large staff to take care of his property at Allaire, which at one time was boasted to occupy The actual count was closer to
Brisbane eventually began to explore the history of his property at Allaire and became aware in the 1920s of its great historic significance. His Allaire property was formerly James P. Allaire's "Howell Iron Works Company," a thriving iron making industrial village of the early 19th century. As early as 1925, Brisbane sought to preserve this property, with its vast natural resources and 19th century era village buildings. Although not completed before his death, it was left to his wife, Phoebe Cary Brisbane and her immediate family to fulfill Arthur Brisbane's wishes of donating nearly to the State of New Jersey by 1944, including James P. Allaire's 19th century industrial village. The deed of gift contained stipulations that it was to be used for historic and forest reservation purposes, and for nothing else. Moreover, the Brisbane family home served as the Arthur Brisbane Child Treatment Center until its recent closure in 2005. The original Brisbane gift of land, , forms the heart of Allaire State Park. Its historic village is dedicated to portraying the life and times of James P. Allaire's "Howell Iron Works Company" largely through the non profit educational organization, Allaire Village Inc. Efforts were pushed forward at the Historic Village at Allaire in 2006 by Allaire historian Hance M. Sitkus to better interpret Brisbane's career, family, and generosity, focusing on Brisbane as an often overlooked humanitarian and philanthropist.

At his death, Hearst said, "I know that Arthur Brisbane was the greatest journalist of his day," and Damon Runyon said "Journalism has lost its all time No. 1 genius."