He was managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle for 44 years, and wrote variously on history, economics, and journalism.

His books include the two-volume San Francisco: A History of the Pacific Coast Metropolis (1913),[1] and Journalism in California (1915).

[2][3] Young was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at age 16 ran away from home and enlisted in the Navy.

[4] Other works include a two-volume history of San Francisco, and The Growth of Modern Trusts, the latter praised by president Theodore Roosevelt as performing a genuine service to the country.

He died at the age of 71 on April 23, 1921, at his home in San Francisco, after suffering a stroke of paralysis 10 days earlier.