Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.
Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper The Daily News of the Virgin Islands (Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I.) 1955-1978 Daily news / Running title: Daily news

View All Front Pages

About The Daily News of the Virgin Islands (Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I.) 1955-1978

The Daily News of the Virgin Islands has been a prominent source of local news and information for nearly a century. Established in 1930 in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, The Daily News was founded by Ariel Melchior Sr. and J. Antonio Jarvis. In 1940, Ariel Melchior Sr. bought J. Antonio Jarvis’ shares and became the sole proprietor.

In 1955 Melchior Sr. changed the name of the paper to The Daily News of the Virgin Islands. From 1955 to 1964, Ariel Melchior Sr. held the position of editor, followed by Ariel Melchior Jr. who served in the same capacity from 1964 to 1976. The editorial leadership was then handed over to John Thompson, who held the post from January to April 1977, before it was taken over by Carter Hague from April 1977 to May 1978. In 1978, Ariel Melchior made the decision to sell the paperto the Gannett company. Despite the change in ownership, Melchior remained actively involved in the newspaper’s daily operations.

The Daily News of the Virgin Islands was published daily, excluding Sundays and holidays. With an initial page count of eight to twelve pages, the newspaper gradually increased its page count over time, becoming a regular twelve or sixteen pages per issue. The publisher’s block indicated that the paper was distributed in the Virgin Islands, the continental US and Canada, and Europe, with an office in London under S. S. Koppe & Co. Ltd. The paper’s motto is “More and Better Business for St. Thomas.”

Between 1955 and 1978,the paper featured a variety of recurring sections, including a classified ads section, a world news section, a women’s section with recipes, a sports section, and syndicated columns such as “Advice to Lovelorn” by Beatrice Fairfax and “Look and Learn” by A. C. Gordon. In addition, the paper incorporated a “Virgin Islands’ Only Color Comics” comic strip section, including the Blondie cartoon strip, and added a teen section and a “Solve a Crime” mystery section in 1962.

As of July 1962, the paper increased its coverage of NASA and the space race, and it included more political cartoons with anti-Nixon and pro-civil rights sentiments. On the 33rd anniversary of the paper on August 1, 1963, an article was published on the history of the paper.

The Daily News of the Virgin Islands continued publication until 1978 when it became The Virgin Islands Daily News, which remains in publication today.

Provided By: University of the Virgin Islands

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Daily News of the Virgin Islands (Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I.) 1955-1978

Other Title

  • Daily news
  • Running title: Daily news

Dates of Publication

  • 1955-1978

Created / Published

  • Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I. : [Art Shop], [1955-1978]

Headings

  • -  Charlotte Amalie (United States Virgin Islands)--Newspapers
  • -  United States Virgin Islands--Charlotte Amalie
  • -  United States--Virgin Islands--Saint Thomas--Charlotte Amalie

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Daily (except Sunday)
  • -  26th year, no. 8712 (Aug. 1, 1955)-48th year, no. 12043 (May 17, 1978).
  • -  "The only independent Virgin Islands newspaper serving the people of the Virgin Islands."
  • -  Editor: Ariel Melchior, Sr., 1955-1964; Ariel Melchior, Jr., 1964-1976; John Thompson, Jan.-Apr. 1977; Carter Hague, Apr. 1977-May 1978.
  • -  40th anniversary ed., Aug. 1, 1970; 160 pp., 45th anniversary ed., Aug. 1, 1975. Contained ill. history of the islands and newspaper publishing in the territory.
  • -  Virgin Islands daily news (DLC)sn 84037551 (OCoLC)10531523

Medium

  • 23 volumes : illustrations ; 38 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83025327

OCLC Number

  • 9391862

ISSN Number

  • 2996-9131

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://aj.sunback.homes/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://aj.sunback.homes/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Daily News of the Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I. -1978. (Charlotte Amalie, VI), Jan. 1 1955. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025327/.

APA citation style:

(1955, January 1) The Daily News of the Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I. -1978. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025327/.

MLA citation style:

The Daily News of the Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, V.I. -1978. (Charlotte Amalie, VI) 1 Jan. 1955. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83025327/.