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     The Chicago Defender, founded by Robert S. Abbott on May 5, 1905, heralded itself as "The World's Greatest Weekly." The newspaper was the nation's most influential black weekly newspaper by the advent of World War I, with more than two thirds of its readership base located outside of Chicago. Abbott began his journalistic enterprise with an initial investment of 25 cents, a press run of 300 copies, and worked out of a small kitchen in his landlord's apartment. The first issues of The Defender were in the form of four-page, six column handbills and were filled with local news items gathered by Abbott and clippings from other newspapers.
     Robert Sengstacke Abbott was one of the most prolific and successful publishers in the United States during the early 20th century.

During World War I The Chicago Defender waged its most aggressive (and successful) campaign in support of "The Great Migration" movement. This movement resulted in over one and a half million southern blacks migrating to the North between 1915-1925. The Defender spoke of the hazards of remaining in the overtly segregated south and lauded life in the North. Job listings and train schedules were posted to facilitate the relocation.

      The Defender also used editorials, cartoons, and articles with blazing headlines to attract attention to the movement, and even went so far as to declare May 15, 1917 the date of the "Great Northern Drive." The Defender's support of the movement, caused southern readers to migrate to the North in record numbers. At least 110,000 came to Chicago alone between 1916-1918, nearly tripling the city's black population.

    ​ The Chicago Defender resulted in millions of African Americans migrating with a significant number going to Chicago, As the paper grew, regular contributors included scholar W.E.B. Dubois, writer Langston Hughes and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. By 1920, the paper's circulation exceeded 200,000 and was widely read in the North.

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     John H.H. Sengstacke was born November 25, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia.  Trained by his successor and uncle, Robert S. Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender. Abbott financed his nephew's education at Hampton Institute, where he graduated in 1934.  Abbott also subsidized his studies at the Mergenthaler Linotype School, The Chicago School of Printing, Northwestern University, and Ohio State University.
     In 1934 Sengstacke became Vice President and General Manager of The Robert S. Abbott Publishing Company, and served as its president, following Robert S. Abbott's death in 1940. He founded The National Newspaper Association in 1940, and served as its president for seven terms. The organization was established to unify African American newspaper publishers and currently has over 200 members. He proudly started the Chicago Daily Defender in February 6, 1956,  the largest black-owned daily in the world. In 1965 Sengstacke purchased The Pittsburgh Courier, including it in his "Sengstacke Newspaper chain," along with such papers as The Michigan Chronicle in Detroit, and The Tri-State Defender in Memphis.
     Sengstacke's contributions extended beyond the publishing world. He was involved in community service work in Illinois, and received several Presidential Appointments during the Administrations of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. He served as the editor-publisher of the Chicago Daily Defender until his death on May 28, 1997, at the age of 84.