John Philip Young (August 9, 1849 – April 23, 1921) was an American newsman and writer. 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), and Journalism in California (1915). He was also a founding member and treasurer of the Commonwealth Club of California.
Young was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at age 16 ran away from home and enlisted in the Navy. His parents organized his release while he was on his first cruise, and he then spent four years working in a Philadelphia store. He then moved out west, first to Arizona, then San Diego, where he became business manager and later an editor of the San Diego Union. In 1873 he went to Washington, D.C. for four years, where he was city editor of the Washington Chronicle. He moved back to California in 1877, joining the Chronicle in April of that year. After covering the 1877–78 session of the California legislature for the Chronicle, he was appointed managing editor.
