Benjamin Edes
American, 1732 - 1803
Benjamin Edes (1732–1803) was a Boston printer who co-operated the firm Edes & Gill from 1755 to 1775. The partners published The Boston Gazette, a weekly newspaper that printed the political essays of Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock. Their shop served as a headquarters for the Sons of Liberty to plan Revolutionary resistance. After the partnership dissolved, Edes operated independently before forming Benjamin Edes & Sons in 1779. During the Revolutionary War, his press acted as an official printer for the state government, producing legislative acts, military proclamations, and Massachusetts paper currency. Edes continued publishing The Boston Gazette until financial decline forced its closure in 1798.