Austin Phelps Cristy (May 8, 1850 – December 1, 1926) was a newspaper publisher. He was born in Morristown, Vermont, to John Baker Cristy and Louisa Lydia Cristy, née Cooke. He attended Reading High School in Reading, Massachusetts, and Monson Academy in Wilbraham. He was at Amherst College for three terms in 1869 and 1870, but did not graduate there; he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, graduating in 1873. He was admitted to the bar in about 1874 and began practicing law in Marblehead, then opened a law office in Worcester the following year. From 1882 to September 1884 he was assistant clerk of the Central District Court in Worcester.
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The paper was a success, and he remained editor and owner until he sold the paper to Theodore T. Ellis in 1920 for $1,000,000. Ellis had worked in the Telegram's pressroom, but Cristy let him go because Ellis was working on inventions to improve the printing process and Cristy asked him to either stop or resign. Ellis's inventions were successful and made enough money for him to purchase the paper from Cristy.
He published a guide book for his reporters, and his sayings, such as "The body of a person drowned should not be called a floater. No dead body should be called a stiff." became known as Cristyisms.
