Col. Samuel LeRoy Slover (1873-1959)

Tennessee native Samuel L. Slover established himself in Norfolk in 1905 as co-owner of the Public Ledger, a local newspaper. He later controlled six of Virginia's most influential newspapers, including the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Petersburg Progress-Index, and Richmond Times-Dispatch. Slover built his media company by revitalizing ailing newspapers through consolidation and judicious management. He served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Virginia Gov. Westmoreland Davis (1918-1922) with the rank of colonel. As mayor of Norfolk in 1933, during the Great Depression, Slover helped stabilize the city’s finances.