Hitchcock, a native Omahan, came from an affluent family. His father, Phineas W. Hitchcock, engaged in real estate and insurance in Omaha. His grandfather, Dr. George Monell, was a well-to-do physician and had been one of the organizers of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Hitchcock was educated in Omaha Public Schools, then was sent to Baden, Germany, for two more years of education. He returned to study law at the University of Michigan. After he was graduated from law school in 1881, Hitchcock returned to Omaha and set up a law office. Four years later his interest in journalism led to his founding the "Evening World."

Hitchcock started the "Omaha Daily World" August 24, 1885. Four years later, he bought out the "Omaha Herald" to combine the two into "The Omaha World Herald." He intended to keep the newspaper independent of political parties and simply print the news. A few years later, he abandoned that concept. "The World Herald" supported the Democratic Party until Hitchcock died in 1934.

Hitchcock enjoyed two successful careers in his lifetime, the first as founder and publisher of "The World Herald," which has become Omaha's only daily newspaper and Nebraska's largest newspaper. Hitchcock retained the title as well as the duties of editor until October 1892. Of being a newspaperman, he said, "There are two cardinal principles for every well conducted newspaper. They are accuracy and fairness."

Hitchcock's other career was as a public official. He served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate. In the Senate, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he led the floor fight for President Woodrow Wilson for the declaration of war against Germany in 1917. Three years later he led the unsuccessful effort to have the United States become a member of the League of Nations.

Hitchcock became the Democratic nominee for Congress in 1898. He lost, was elected in 1902, was defeated in the Teddy Roosevelt landslide of 1904, was elected again in 1906 and re-elected in 1908. After three terms in the House, Hitchcock was elected to the Senate in 1910 and re-elected in 1916. Hitchcock was defeated by Republican Robert B. Howell when he ran for re-election in 1922.

Senator Hitchcock died February 3, 1934, thus ending 49 years as the newspaper's publisher. He was inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame on August 23, 1985.

Dr. Paul V. Peterson, former head of the journalism department at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and now a professor of journalism at Ohio State University, wrote his doctoral dissertation on "The World-Herald." He said, "Sen. Hitchcock is probably the most underrated man in the history of Nebraska."