Among the leading magazine editors of to-day is John Brisben Walker,
the author and publisher of the Cosmopolitan Magazine, who is also
the founder of Cosmopolitan university. He was born in western
Pennsylvania, September 10, 1847, and is the son of John and Anna
(Krepps) Walker, and his early education was received at Gonzaga
Classical School, Washington, D. C. In 1863, he entered Georgetown
university, remaining there until he received appointment to the United
States military academy at West Point, in 1865. In 1868, however,
he entered the Chinese military service, in which he remained for
two years. Returning to America, he was married, in 1870, to Emily,
daughter of General David Hunter Strother. For the next three years he
was engaged in manufacturing in western Pennsylvania. In 1872 he was
a candidate for congress on the Republican ticket, but was defeated.
During the panic of 1873 his entire fortune was swept away. But, in
spite of political and financial failure, Mr. Walker rapidly forged to
the front again. He next entered in journalism, and for three years was
managing editor of the Washington (D. C.) Chronicle. Then he moved to
Colorado, and for about nine years was a successful alfalfa farmer in
that State. In 1889 he located in New York, and bought the Cosmopolitan
Magazine, of which he is still the editor. The entire plant was moved
to Irvington-on-Hudson in 1895. While Mr. Walker has achieved notable
success in the magazine business, the most notable work of his life was
the founding of the Cosmopolitan university in 1896.