Editing George Newnes

{{Short description|British politician (1851–1910)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name             = Sir George Newnes
| honorific_prefix = 
| honorific_suffix = Bt.
| image            = Portrait of George Newnes.jpg
| image_size       = 
| caption          = Newnes, no later than 1897
| birthname        = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1851|3|13|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Matlock Bath, Derbyshire]], England
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1910|6|9|1851|3|13|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Lynton, Devon]], England
| death_cause      = 
| resting_place    = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| residence        = Hollerday House, [[Lynton, Devon]]
| nationality      = British
| known_for        = [[George Newnes Ltd]].
| education        = [[Silcoates School]]<br />[[City of London School]]
| employer         = 
| occupation       = Newspaper Proprietor, Publisher, Editor & Politician
| title            = 
| salary           = 
| networth         = 
| height           = 
| weight           = 
| office           = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]], [[Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency)|Newmarket]]
| term             = 
| term_start       = 1885
| term_end         = 1895
| office2          = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]], [[Swansea (UK Parliament constituency)|Swansea]]
| term_start2      = 1900
| term_end2        = 1910
| term2            = 
| predecessor      = N/A
| successor        = [[Harry McCalmont]]
| predecessor2     = [[Sir John Dillwyn-Llewellyn, 1st Baronet|John Dillwyn-Llewellyn]]
| successor2       = [[Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett|Alfred Mond]]
| party            = Liberal
| boards           = 
| religion         = 
| spouse           = {{marriage|Priscilla Hillyard|1875}}
| partner          = 
| children         = 2, including [[Frank Newnes]]
| parents          = Thomas Mold Newnes
| relatives        = 
| signature        = 
| website          = 
| footnotes        = 
}}
'''Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet''' (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British [[publisher]] and [[editing|editor]] and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for two decades. His company, [[George Newnes Ltd]], was known for such periodicals as ''[[Tit-Bits]]'' and ''[[The Strand Magazine]]''; it continued publishing consumer magazines such as ''[[Nova (UK magazine)|Nova]]'' long after his death.

==Background and education==
His father, Thomas Mold Newnes, was a [[Congregational church]] [[Minister of religion|minister]] at the Glenorchy Chapel, [[Matlock, Derbyshire|Matlock]].<ref name=obit/><ref name=biogs>{{cite news |title=Biographies of Candidates |work=[[The Times]] |page=3 |date=26 November 1885}}</ref> George Newnes was born in [[Matlock Bath]], [[Derbyshire]],<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Sir George Newnes |work=[[The Times]] |page=13 |date=10 June 1910 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030509/http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9422632 Sir George at Biography.com] accessed June 2007</ref> and educated at [[Silcoates School]] and then at Shireland Hall, [[Warwickshire]], and the [[City of London School]].<ref name=obit/><ref name=biogs/> In 1875, he married Priscilla Hillyard.<ref name=biogs/> They had two sons; the eldest died at age eight (his death was said to have devastated his father),<ref name="ODNB">[[A. J. A. Morris]], 'Sir George Newnes', ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', OUP 2004–11</ref> and [[Frank Newnes]] (born 1876).

==Career==
[[File:Newnes-Spy-1894.jpg|thumb|Caricature of George Newnes by [[Leslie Ward]] ("Spy") in [[Vanity Fair (British magazine 1868-1914)|''Vanity Fair'']] magazine, 1894]]
In 1867 he entered commerce in the "fancy goods" trade, working in London and Manchester.<ref name=obit/><ref name=biogs/>

He began his career in publishing in 1881 when he founded ''[[Tit-Bits]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://john-adcock.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/sir-george-newnes-bart1851-1910.html|title=Sir George Newnes, Bart.(1851–1910)|publisher=Yesterday's Papers|first=John|last=Adcock|date=September 24, 2011}}</ref> as a direct response to the [[Elementary Education Act 1870]] which introduced education for children aged 5–12 and hence produced a new young generation able to read.<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/livinglearning/school/overview/1870educationact/ "The 1870 Education Act"]. ''Parliament UK'', Retrieved 21 Jan 2017.</ref>

The magazine was initially published in Manchester like a mini-encyclopedia, containing extracts from books and other publications, but principally a diverse range of tit-bits of information presented in an easy-to-read format. He funded the magazine by opening a [[vegetarian restaurant]] in Manchester.<ref name = "Hulda">{{Cite book | author=Friederichs, Hulda| title=George Newnes| year=1911 | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton (1911) Kessinger Publishing (2008) | location=London | isbn=978-0-548-88777-6 }} (republished 2008)</ref> The addition of competitions increased the readership of the periodical, and in 1884 Newnes moved publication to London.<ref name=obit/> He began to work with [[William Thomas Stead|W. T. Stead]], with whom he founded the ''[[Review of Reviews]]'' in 1890.<ref name=obit/> ''Tit-Bits'' reached a circulation of 700,000 by the end of the 19th century.<ref name = "Hulda"/> It paved the way for popular journalism&nbsp;– most significantly, the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' was founded by [[Alfred Harmsworth]], a contributor to ''Tit-Bits'', and the ''[[Daily Express]]'' was launched by [[Sir Arthur Pearson, 1st Baronet|Arthur Pearson]], who worked at ''Tit-Bits'' for five years after winning a competition to get a job on the magazine.<ref name = "Hulda"/>

Arguably his best-known publication was ''[[The Strand Magazine]]'', begun in 1891, in which Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] was first able to publish his [[Sherlock Holmes]] [[Mystery fiction|mystery]] series.<ref name = "Hulda"/> He also founded other [[magazine]] titles, including ''[[The Wide World Magazine]]'' (1888), ''[[The Westminster Gazette]]'' (1893), and ''[[Country Life (magazine)|Country Life]]'' (1897).

Politically, Newnes was [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]], and in [[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885]] he was elected as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for the newly created constituency of [[Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency)|Eastern Cambridgeshire or Newmarket]]. He held the seat for ten years, before his defeat by the [[Conservative party (UK)|Conservative]] millionaire horse-breeder, [[Harry McCalmont]] in [[1895 United Kingdom general election|1895]].<ref name=obit/> In addition, Newnes refounded ''[[The Westminster Gazette]]'' in 1893 to support the Liberal party when ''[[The Pall Mall Gazette]]'' became a [[Liberal Unionist Party|Unionist]] paper.<ref name=obit/>

In 1895 he was created a [[baronet]] "of Wildcroft, in the parish of [[Putney]], in the [[county of London]]; of Hollerday Hill, in the parish of Lynton, and Hesketh House, in the borough of [[Torquay]], both in the county of Devon."<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26598 |date=15 February 1895 |page=911 }}</ref> He paid for the new [[Putney Library]], built in 1899. Around this time he became the main sponsor of the [[Southern Cross Expedition]] to Antarctica; part of his contribution was the purchase of a movie camera from Arthur S. Newman, who would later supply similar cameras to [[Herbert Ponting]] of Captain Scott's 1910-3 [[Terra Nova Expedition]] and [[John Baptist Lucius Noel]], photographer on the 1924 [[Mount Everest]] expedition.

He re-entered the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|Commons]] in [[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]] as MP for [[Swansea (UK Parliament constituency)|Swansea]], and held the seat until he retired at the [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|January 1910 general election]].<ref name=obit/>

Newnes built a large home called Hollerday House in [[Lynton]], [[North Devon]].<ref name=obit/> It was destroyed by fire in 1913.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visitlyntonandlynmouth.com/about/hollerday-house |title=Hollerday House &#124; Lynton and Lynmouth |access-date=12 January 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112160900/http://www.visitlyntonandlynmouth.com/about/hollerday-house |url-status=dead }}</ref> He played a major part in the development of the twin towns of Lynton and [[Lynmouth]]. He built an innovative cliff railway — the [[Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway]] — to join the two towns, and also provided the town hall and other amenities.<ref name=obit/> Largely as a result of Sir George's efforts, the 19-mile [[Lynton and Barnstaple Railway]] opened in 1898 ostensibly to bring visitors from the mainline railways at Barnstaple. (He was also involved in funding the [[Bridgnorth Cliff Railway]] and the [[Clifton Rocks Railway]], as well as the [[Lynton Village railway station]] and the [[Lynmouth Bay railway station]].)

Newnes provided a silver cup for the [[Anglo-American cable chess matches|Newnes Trophy]] series of chess matches between Great Britain and the United States, conducted over transatlantic cable from 1896 to 1911.<ref>{{citation | editor-last=Golombek | editor-first=Harry | editor-link=Harry Golombek | year=1977 | title=Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess | publisher=Crown Publishing | isbn=0-517-53146-1 | contribution=Cable Matches | pages=53}}</ref>

Newnes was involved in the creation of [[The Inambari Para-Rubber Estates, Limited]] and held 100,000 shares valued at £1 each. His son Frank became a director in the company, which exported rubber collected near the [[Inambari River]] in Peru.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Book of Prospectuses Statements for Information and Circulars to Shareholders of Public Companies |journal=Book of Prospectuses Statements for Information and Circulars to Shareholders of Public Companies |date=1907 |issue=33 |pages=49–50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b37U_0zuzMAC |publisher=Stock Exchange (London, England). Share and Loan Department}}</ref>

He was chairman of the board of directors of [[Commonwealth Oil Corporation]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=1906-04-05 |title=COMMONWEALTH OIL CORPORATION |pages=9 |work=Daily News |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82872098 |access-date=2022-04-26}}</ref> and the abandoned oil shale mining site of [[Newnes, New South Wales|Newnes]], in Australia, was named after him.

Sir George Newnes died at his Lynton home in June 1910 aged 59, having suffered ill health from [[diabetes]] for some time.<ref name=obit/> He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, [[Frank Newnes]], who had served as MP for [[Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency)|Bassetlaw]], [[Nottinghamshire]] from 1906 to 1910.<ref name=obit/>

==Publishing company==
{{main|George Newnes Ltd}}
In 1891 his publishing business was formed into a company that bore his name, [[George Newnes Ltd]]. The company was reconstructed in 1897 with a capital of 1,000,000 pounds, and began the publication of books.<ref name=obit/> In 1896 Newnes founded the book series, The Penny Library of Famous Books.<ref>[https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8gx4dsz/entire_text/ Penny Library of Famous Books], oac.cdlib.org, [[Online Archive of California]]. Retrieved 30 December 2018.</ref>

After Newnes' death in 1910, his son [[Frank Newnes]] succeeded him as president of George Newnes Ltd. Decades after the proprietor's death, George Newnes Ltd (and its imprint [[C. Arthur Pearson Ltd]]) continued into the 1960s as one of London's three leading magazine publishers – along with [[Odhams Press]] and the [[Hulton Press]] – producing a diverse range of titles from ''Lady's Companion'', ''[[Woman's Own]]'', ''[[Nova (UK magazine)|Nova]]'', ''Rave'' and ''Flair'', to ''[[Practical Mechanics]]'' and ''[[Practical Television]]''.

In 1959, the company was purchased by Odhams,<ref>''[[The Times]]'' (June 19, 1959).</ref><ref name=gracesguide>[https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Newnes_Co "George Newnes Co,"] ''Grace's Guide to British Industrial History''. Retrieved Apr. 1, 2021.</ref><ref>[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/o/odhams.htm "Odhams Press,"] International Catalogue of Super-Heroes. Retrieved Mar. 3, 2021.</ref> and in 1961, the company became part of the [[International Publishing Corporation]].<ref name="Birch">Birch, Paul. [http://blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/2008/12/speaking-frankly.html "Speaking Frankly,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720075859/http://blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/2008/12/speaking-frankly.html |date=20 July 2011 }} ''Birmingham Mail'' (14 December 2008).</ref>

Today, books under the Newnes imprint continue to be published by [[Elsevier]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://store.elsevier.com/categoryController.jsp?categoryId=EST_IMP-73|title=Newnes - Elsevier - Store}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jacketflap.com/newnes-elsevier-inc-publisher-16195|title=Newnes (Elsevier Inc) - Publisher Contact Information}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of British MPs]]
*[[List of publishers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*Jackson, Kate. ''George Newnes and the New Journalism in Britain, 1880-1910''. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-7546-0317-7}}
*Pugh, Brian W., Spiring, Paul R. & Bhanji, Sadru. ''Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes & Devon''. London: MX Publishing Ltd, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-904312-86-4}}
*{{cite DNB12|wstitle=Newnes, George|first=Charles|last=Welch}}
*{{cite ODNB|first=A. J. A.|last=Morris|title=Newnes, Sir George, first baronet (1851–1910)|id=35218}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{wikisource author-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010119151700/http://www.jhenry.demon.co.uk/strand2.htm The Story of The Strand Magazine]
* {{Gutenberg author |id=3266| name=George Newnes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=George Newnes}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | sir-george-newnes | George Newnes }}

{{S-start}}
{{S-par|uk}}
{{S-new| constituency }}
{{S-ttl
 | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Newmarket (UK Parliament constituency)|Newmarket]]
 | years = [[1885 United Kingdom general election|1885]] – [[1895 United Kingdom general election|1895]]
}}
{{S-aft| after=[[Harry McCalmont]] }}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Swansea (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Swansea]]
 | years  = [[1900 United Kingdom general election|1900]] – [[January 1910 United Kingdom general election|Jan. 1910]]
 | before = [[John Talbot Dillwyn Llewellyn|Sir John Dillwyn Llewellyn]]
 | after  = [[Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett|Sir Alfred Mond]]
}}
{{S-reg|uk-bt}}
{{S-new| creation }}
{{S-ttl
 | title = [[Newnes baronets|Baronet]]<br />'''(of Wildcroft)'''
 | years = 1895–1910
}}
{{S-aft| after=[[Frank Hillyard Newnes]] }}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newnes, George}}
[[Category:1851 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Matlock, Derbyshire]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1885–1886]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1886–1892]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1892–1895]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1900–1906]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1906–1910]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Swansea constituencies]]
[[Category:English publishers (people)]]
[[Category:British magazine publishers (people)]]
[[Category:19th-century British newspaper publishers (people)]]
[[Category:20th-century British newspaper publishers (people)]]
[[Category:People educated at the City of London School]]
[[Category:Newnes baronets|1]]
[[Category:Lynton and Barnstaple Railway]]
[[Category:Haberdashers]]
[[Category:The Strand Magazine]]
[[Category:Chess patrons]]
[[Category:19th-century English businesspeople]]