newspaperman, b. Deerfield, Mass. Before coming to Wisconsin he worked on various newspapers in the East, including the Boston Globe and the Springfield (Mass.) Republican. In 1888 he moved to Superior, Wis., where he engaged in the real estate business and in 1890 founded the Superior Telegram (styled Superior Evening Telegram after 1922). He was editor and publisher of this paper from 1890 until his death, and also had financial interests in several other Wisconsin newspapers. Murphy had numerous business interests in Superior, was president of the Berkshire Realty Co., treasurer of the Cuyuna Iron Ore Co., and had extensive investments in iron and copper lands. He was instrumental in organizing radio station WEBC on a commercial basis in 1924, and also helped promote the construction of the Arrowhead bridge connecting Superior and West Duluth (1926). A Republican, Murphy was a delegate to the national conventions of 1900 and 1908, and was a Republican presidential elector in 1920. M. M. Quaife, Wis. (4 vols., Chicago, 1924); Superior Evening Telegram, Dec. 15, 1932, June 11, 1940.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]