Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' and the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'', he was an early developer of popular journalism, and he exercised vast influence over British popular opinion during the

Edwardian era The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victor ...

. Lord Beaverbrook said he was "the greatest figure who ever strode down

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

." About the beginning of the 20th century there were increasing attempts to develop popular journalism intended for the working class and tending to emphasize sensational topics. Harmsworth was the main innovator. Northcliffe had a powerful role during the First World War, especially by criticizing the government regarding the

Shell Crisis of 1915 The Shell Crisis of 1915 was a shortage of artillery shells on the front lines in the First World War that led to a political crisis in the United Kingdom. Previous military experience led to an over-reliance on shrapnel to attack infantry in th ...

. He directed a mission to the new ally, the United States, during 1917, and was director of enemy propaganda during 1918. His

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

employed writers such as

Arthur Mee Arthur Henry Mee (21 July 187527 May 1943) was an English writer, journalist and educator. He is best known for ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'', '' The Children's Encyclopædia'', ''The Children's Newspaper'', and ''The King's England''. The ...

and John Hammerton, and its subsidiary, the Educational Book Company, published ''

The Harmsworth Self-Educator ''The Harmsworth Self-Educator'' was a British educational magazine series "published in forty eight issues between 1905 and 1907" at the instigation of newspaper owner Alfred Harmsworth and edited by Arthur Mee. The purpose of ''The Self-Educato ...

'', ''

The Children's Encyclopædia ''The Children's Encyclopædia'' was an encyclopaedia originated by Arthur Mee, and published by the Educational Book Company, a subsidiary of Northcliffe's Amalgamated Press, London. It was published from 1908 to 1964. Walter M. Jackson's c ...

'', and ''

Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia ''Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia'' is an encyclopedia edited by John Hammerton and published in London, England by The Education Book Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Northcliffe's Amalgamated Press, in 1921/22. Aimed at a middle-income market ...

''. Challenging the dominance in popularity of the "

penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...

s" among British children, from the 1890s Harmsworth half-penny periodicals, such as ''

Illustrated Chips ''Illustrated Chips'' was a British comic magazine published between 26 July 1890 and 12 September 1953. Its publisher was the Amalgamated Press, run by Alfred Harmsworth. Priced at a half-penny, ''Illustrated Chips'' was among a number of Harm ...

'', would enjoy a virtual monopoly of comics in the UK until the emergence of

DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and '' The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor W ...

comics in the 1930s.

Biography

Early life and success

Born in

Chapelizod Chapelizod () is a village preserved within the city of Dublin, Ireland. It lies in the wooded valley of the River Liffey, near the Strawberry Beds and the Phoenix Park. The village is associated with Iseult of Ireland and the location of Is ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, the son of

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

and Geraldine Harmsworth, he was educated at Stamford School in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England, from 1876 and at Henley House School in

Kilburn, London Kilburn is an area of north west London, England, which spans the boundary of three London Boroughs: London Borough of Camden, Camden to the east, City of Westminster, London Borough of Brent, Brent to the west. There is also an area in the City ...

from 1878. A master at Henley House who was to prove important to his future was J. V. Milne, the father of

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...

, who according to

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Sylvan Debating Club The Sylvan Debating Club is a free speech society in which topical issues are discussed. Founded in London in 1868, it meets monthly and employs a traditional motion-based debating format."The Sylvan Debating Club. Mr. Maxse and the Sanctity of C ...

, founded by his father, and of which he later served as Treasurer. Beginning as a freelance journalist, he initiated his first newspaper, ''

Answers Answer commonly refers to response to a question. Answer may also refer to: * Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure Music * Answer, an element of a fugue Albums * ''Answer'' (Angela Aki albu ...

'' (original title: ''Answers to Correspondents''), and was later assisted by his brother

Harold Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...

, who was adept in business matters. Harmsworth had an intuitive sense for what the reading public wanted to buy, and began a series of cheap but successful periodicals, such as ''

Comic Cuts ''Comic Cuts'' was a British comic magazine. It was published from 1890 to 1953, lasting for 3006 issues. It was created by the reporter Alfred Harmsworth through his company Amalgamated Press (AP). In its early days, it inspired other publishe ...

'' (tagline: "Amusing without being Vulgar") and the journal ''Forget-Me-Not'' for women. From these periodicals, he developed the largest periodical publishing company in the world,

. His half-penny periodicals published in the 1890s played a role in the decline of the Victorian

s. Harmsworth was an early developer of popular journalism. He bought several failing newspapers and made them into an enormously profitable news group, primarily by appealing to the general public. He began with ''The Evening News'' during 1894, and then merged two Edinburgh papers to form the ''Edinburgh Daily Record''. That same year he funded an expedition to Franz Joseph Land in the Arctic with the intention of making attempts to travel to the North Pole. On 4 May 1896 he began publishing the ''Daily Mail'' in London, which was a success, having the world record for daily circulation until Harmsworth's death; taglines of the ''Daily Mail'' included "the busy man's daily journal" and "the penny newspaper for one halfpenny". Prime Minister Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury, said it was "written by office boys for office boys". Harmsworth then transformed a Sunday newspaper, the ''Weekly Dispatch'', into the '' Sunday Dispatch'', then the greatest circulation Sunday newspaper in Britain. He also initiated the ''Harmsworth Magazine'' (later ''London Magazine'' 1898–1915), utilizing one of Britain's best editors, Beckles Willson, who had been editor of many successful publications, including ''

The Graphic ''The Graphic'' was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Ltd. Thomas's brother Lewis Samuel Thomas was a co-founder. The premature death of the latt ...

''. During 1899 Harmsworth was responsible for the unprecedented success of a charitable appeal for the dependents of soldiers fighting in the South African War by inviting

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

and

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

to write the song "

The Absent-Minded Beggar "The Absent-Minded Beggar" is an 1899 poem by Rudyard Kipling, set to music by Sir Arthur Sullivan and often accompanied by an illustration of a wounded but defiant British soldier, "A Gentleman in Kharki", by Richard Caton Woodville. The song w ...

". Harmsworth also initiated ''

The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' during 1903, and rescued the financially desperate ''

Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

'' and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' during 1905 and 1908, respectively. During 1908, he also acquired ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. The

subsidiary the ''Educational Book Company'' published the ''Harmsworth Self-Educator'', ''

'', and ''

''. He brought his younger brothers into his media empire, and they all flourished:

Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940) was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Nort ...

Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth LLD (23 September 1869 – 13 August 1948), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1915 and as Under-Secretary of Stat ...

Sir Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (1 November 187019 January 1937) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. Background Harmsworth was the fourth son of Alfred Harmsworth, a barrister, and Geraldine Mary, daughter of William ...

and

Sir Hildebrand Harmsworth, 1st Baronet Sir Hildebrand Aubrey Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (15 March 1872 – 18 April 1929) was a British newspaper proprietor, twice unsuccessful parliamentary candidate, and member of the Harmsworth publishing family. Early life and family Hildebrand H ...

Ennobled

Harmsworth was created a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Elmwood, in the parish of St Peters in the County of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1904. In 1905, Harmsworth was raised to the peerage as Baron Northcliffe, of the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in anc ...

in the County of Kent. The peerage was requested by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, and was alleged to have been purchased. It remains a matter of speculation. In 1918, Harmsworth was created Viscount Northcliffe, of St Peter's in the County of Kent, for his service as the director of the British war mission in the United States.

Marriage

Alfred Harmsworth married Mary Elizabeth Milner on 11 April 1888. She was appointed

Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(GBE) and Dame of Grace, Order of St John (D.St.J) during 1918. They did not have any children together.

Children

Lord Northcliffe had four acknowledged children by two different women. The first, Alfred Benjamin Smith, was born when Harmsworth was seventeen years old; the mother was a sixteen-year-old maidservant in his parents' home. Smith died during 1930, allegedly in a mental home. By 1900, Harmsworth had acquired a new mistress, an Irishwoman named Kathleen Wrohan, about whom little is known but her name; they had two further sons and a daughter, and she died in 1923.

Political influence

By 1914 Northcliffe controlled 40% of the morning newspaper circulation, 45% of the evening and 15% of the Sunday circulation in Britain. The Independent (1849) (14595849278)

Northcliffe's ownership of ''The Times'', the ''Daily Mail'' and other newspapers meant that his editorials influenced both "the classes and the masses". That meant that in an era before radio, television or internet, Northcliffe dominated the British press "as it never has been before or since by one man". Northcliffe's editorship of the ''Daily Mail'' in the years just before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in which the newspaper displayed "a virulent anti-German sentiment" caused ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' to declare, "Next to the Kaiser, Lord Northcliffe has done more than any living man to bring about the war". His newspapers, especially ''The Times'', reported the

with such zeal that it helped to end the Liberal government of Prime Minister

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, which forced Asquith to form a coalition government (the other causal event was the resignation of Admiral Fisher as

First Sea Lord The First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff (1SL/CNS) is the military head of the Royal Navy and Naval Service of the United Kingdom. The First Sea Lord is usually the highest ranking and most senior admiral to serve in the British Armed Fo ...

). Northcliffe's newspapers propagandized for creating a

Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

, which was held first by

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

, and helped to bring about Lloyd George's appointment as prime minister in 1916. Lloyd George offered Northcliffe a job in his cabinet, but Northcliffe refused and was instead appointed director for propaganda. Such was Northcliffe's influence on anti-German propaganda during the World War I that a German warship was sent to shell his house, Elmwood, in Broadstairs, in an attempt to assassinate him. His former residence still bears a shell hole out of respect for his gardener's wife, who was killed in the attack. On 6 April 1919, Lloyd George made an excoriating attack on Harmsworth, terming his arrogance "diseased vanity". By then, Harmsworth's influence was decreasing. Northcliffe's enemies accused him of power without responsibility, but his papers were a factor in settling the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

in 1921, and his mission to the United States, from June through to October 1917, has been judged successful by historians. Northcliffe's personality shaped his career. He was monolingual and not well-educated and knew little history or science. He had a lust for power and for money, while leaving the accounting paperwork to his brother Harold. He imagined himself Napoleon reborn and resembled the emperor physically and in terms of his enormous energy and ambition. Above all, he had a boyish enthusiasm for everything.

Norman Fyfe Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, an intimate friend, described him:

Boyish in his power of concentration upon the matter of the moment, boyish in his readiness to turn swiftly to a different matter and concentrate on that.... Boyish the limited range of his intellect, which seldom concerns itself with anything but the immediate, the obvious, the popular. Boyish his irresponsibility, his disinclination to take himself or his publications seriously; his conviction that whatever benefits them is justifiable, and that it is not his business to consider the effect of their contents on the public mind.

Sport

In 1903 Harmsworth initiated the

Harmsworth Cup The Harmsworth Cup, popularly known as the Harmsworth Trophy, is a historically important British international trophy for motorboats. History The Harmsworth was the first annual international award for motorboat racing. Officially, it is a cont ...

, the first international award for

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

racing.

Motoring

Harmsworth was a friend of Claude Johnson, chief executive of

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

, and during the years preceding the First World war became an enthusiast of the

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the " 40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, ...

car.

Death

Lord Northcliffe circa 1921 driving Fordson at Dearborn

Lord Northcliffe's health declined during 1921 due mainly to a streptococcal infection. His mental health collapsed; he acted like a madman but historians say it was a physical malady. He went on a world tour to revive himself, but it failed to do so. He died of

endocarditis Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...

in his London house, No. 1 Carlton House Gardens, on 14 August 1922. He left three months' pay to each of his six thousand employees. The viscountcy, barony, and baronetcy of Northcliffe became extinct. A monument to Northcliffe at St Dunstan-in-the-West, Fleet Street, London, was unveiled in 1930. The obelisk was designed by

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

and the bronze bust is by

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

. His body was buried at

East Finchley Cemetery East Finchley Cemetery is a cemetery and crematorium in East End Road, East Finchley. Although it is in the London Borough of Barnet, it is owned and managed by the City of Westminster.A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was a British historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his televis ...

, however, says, "Northcliffe could destroy when he used the news properly. He could not step into the vacant place. He aspired to power instead of influence, and as a result forfeited both."

P. P. Catterall Pippa Poppy Catterall (born Peter Paul Catterall in 1961) is a British academic historian who, since 2016, has been Professor of History and Policy at the University of Westminster. Her research has focused on twentieth-century history and politi ...

and Colin Seymour-Ure conclude that: According to Piers Brendon: :Northcliffe’s methods made the ''Mail'' the most successful newspaper hitherto seen in the history of journalism. But by confusing gewgaws with pearls, by selecting the paltry at the expense of the significant, by confirming atavistic prejudices, by oversimplifying the complex, by dramatizing the humdrum, by presenting stories as entertainment and by blurring the difference between news and views, Northcliffe titillated, if he did not debouch, the public mind; he polluted, if he did not poison, the wells of knowledge.Piers Brendon, ''Eminent Edwardians: Four figures who defined their age: Northcliffe, Balfour, Pankhurst, Baden-Powell'' (1979), pp 25-26 The

A. Harmsworth Glacier A. Harmsworth Glacier or Alfred Harmsworth Glacier ( da, A. Harmsworth Gletscher) is a glacier in northern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park. The glacier was named by Robert Peary after British newspa ...

in North Greenland was named by Robert Peary in his honour. (Northcliffe had provided a ship for the expedition). Northcliffe lived for a time at 31 Pandora Road, West Hampstead; this site is now marked with an English Heritage blue plaque.

Cultural depictions

Northcliffe was the subject of a number of fictionalized portrayals. One of the earliest was the character of Mr. Whelpdale in

George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include '' The Nether World'' (1889), '' New Gr ...

's 1891 novel ''

New Grub Street ''New Grub Street'' is a novel by George Gissing published in 1891, which is set in the literary and journalistic circles of 1880s London. Gissing revised and shortened the novel for a French edition of 1901. Plot The story deals with the lite ...

''. Whelpdale publishes a magazine called ''Chit-Chat'' (similar to Northcliffe's ''

''), which is aimed at "the quarter-educated; that is to say the great new generation that is being turned out by the Board Schools, the young men and women who can just read, but are incapable of sustained attention".

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

's 1909 West End play ''What the Public Wants'' centers on Sir Charles Worgan, a profit-hungry media baron based on Northcliffe.

J. B. Fagan James Bernard Fagan (18 May 1873 – 17 February 1933) was an Irish-born actor, theatre manager, producer and playwright active in England. After turning from the law to the stage, Fagan began his acting career, including four years from 1895 t ...

's 1910 play ''The Earth'' features a satirical version of Northcliffe, Sir Felix Janion, who uses sexual blackmail to prevent the passing of a bill which would provide a minimum wage for his employees.

Promotion of Group Settlement Scheme

Throughout his newspaper career Northcliffe promoted the ideas which resulted in the

Group Settlement Scheme The Group Settlement Scheme was an assisted migration scheme which operated in Western Australia from the early 1920s. It was engineered by Premier James Mitchell and followed on from the Soldier Settlement Scheme immediately after World War ...

. The scheme promised land in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

to British settlers prepared to emigrate and develop the land. A town founded specifically to assist the new settlements was named Northcliffe, in recognition of Lord Northcliffe's promotion of the scheme.

Notes

References

* Boyce, D. George (2004)
Harmsworth, Alfred Charles William, Viscount Northcliffe (1865–1922)
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press. * * Fyfe, Hamilton. ''Lord Northcliffe: An Intimate Biography'' (London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1930) * * * Thompson, J. Lee. "Fleet Street Colossus: The Rise and Fall of Northcliffe, 1896-1922." ''Parliamentary History'' 25.1 (2006): 115–138
online

External links

*

at Ketupa.net Media Profiles 2006-12-11
Lord Northcliffe & the 1908 Olympics - UK Parliament Living Heritage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcliffe, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount 1865 births 1922 deaths Harmsworth, Alfred Daily Mail and General Trust people Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Stamford School People from County Dublin People from Thanet (district) Place of birth missing Burials at East Finchley Cemetery

Deaths from endocarditis Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Peers created by Edward VII Viscounts created by George V