Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first issue of Variety appeared on the 16th of December 1905. Sime Silverman launched the publication after being fired from The Morning Telegraph for writing a scathing review of an act that had paid $50 for an advertisement.
Sime Silverman founded Variety magazine by borrowing $1,500 from his father-in-law. He launched the publication with a radical promise that it would never be influenced by advertising, allowing it to critique the industry without fear of losing revenue.
Variety published what is considered the first film review in history on the 19th of January 1907. The review covered Pathe's comedy short An Exciting Honeymoon and Edison Studios' western short The Life of a Cowboy.
The Silverman era ended in 1987 when Variety was sold to Cahners Publishing for $64 million. Roger Watkins took over as editor of the Weekly in 1987, while Pete Pryor assumed the editorship of Daily Variety in 1988.
Variety began reporting grosses for films by theater on the 3rd of March 1922. By the late 1960s, the magazine used an IBM 360 computer to collate data from up to 800 theaters, representing around 5% of the U.S. cinema population.
Variety made history in 2016 by endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. This marked the first time the publication endorsed a candidate for elected office in its 111-year history.