Jennings was born in Walworth, London, the son of John Jennings, a tailor, and his wife Sarah Michel. Following a period with the Saturday Review, he joined The Times newspaper and between 1863 and 1868 was its special correspondent, first in India and, from 1865, the US, where he was successful in mending the paper's relations with the US Government following its support for the South during the Civil War. In 1868 he published his study of Eighty years of republican government in the United States. He then joined the New York Times of which he became editor from 1870 to 1876. As editor he was responsible for the exposure of the Tweed Ring and subsequently received a letter from Chester A. Arthur assuring him that his services to the citizens of New York would not be forgotten.LOUIS JOHN JENNINGS. The New York Times 10 February 1893
