E. W. Scripps - Later Life

Later Life

In 1898, he finished building a home in San Diego, where his half-sister lived nearby, thinking that the dry, warm climate would help his allergic rhinitis that he had all his life. He built it as a winter home to escape the cold of Illinois, but eventually lived there year round, and conducted his newspaper business from the ranch. His ranch encompassed what is today the community of Scripps Ranch as well as Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

In 1903, he and his half-sister Ellen were the founding donors of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Initially Scripps was reluctant to support the venture, thinking scientists could not be businesslike. However, he developed a deep friendship with the scientific director, William Emerson Ritter, and together they began to plan projects for the Institute. As the Institute started to succeed, he became an enthusiastic supporter, and took a great interest in its work. William Randolph Hearst and Scripps were often at loggerheads as to who owned the better newspaper conglomerate, but the film "Citizen Kane" largely answers that question.

In 1921, Scripps founded Science Service, later renamed Society for Science & the Public, with the goal of keeping the public informed of scientific achievements. The organization continues to run as a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of science. Scripps University is also named in his honor, since a large part of its endowment derives from his newspaper fortune.

Scripps became somewhat of a hermit, calling himself a "damned old crank." He enjoyed sailing the seven seas on a yacht, smoking 50 cigars a day.

Scripps died at the age of 71 on March 12, 1926. As requested, his body was buried at sea by being dumped overboard from his yacht. Among his descendants was Samuel H. Scripps (1927 – 2007), grandson, who became a leading philanthropist for theater in dance in America in the late 20th century.