Alfred Harmsworth (3 July 1837 – 16 July 1889) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, and the father of several of the United Kingdom's leading newspaper proprietors, five of whom were honoured with hereditary titles – two

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

s, one

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and two

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 ...

s. Another son designed the iconic bulbous

Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of the ...

mineral water bottle.

Early life

Alfred Harmsworth was born on 3 July 1837 in

Marylebone, London Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it merge ...

, the only son of Charles Harmsworth and Hannah Carter.

Family

On 21 September 1864, at

St Stephen's Church, Dublin Saint Stephen's Church, popularly known as ''The Pepper Canister'', is the formal Church of Ireland chapel-of-ease for the parish of the same name in Dublin, Ireland. The church is situated on Mount Street Upper. It was begun in 1821 by John Bo ...

, he married Geraldine Mary Maffett, one of the eight children of William Maffett, a land agent in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and his second wife Margaret Finlayson. They lived in Dublin until 1867, when they moved to London, initially to

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

, and later to

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

when the family's fortunes declined, in part due to Harmsworth's "fondness for alcohol", although they were always short of money, in part due to having so many children. The Harmsworths had 14 children (ten sons and four daughters), three of whom died in infancy: *

Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe 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'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

(1865–1922) * Geraldine Adelaide Hamilton Harmsworth (1866–1945), married Sir Lucas White King, mother of

Cecil Harmsworth King Cecil Harmsworth King (20 February 1901 – 17 April 1987) was Chairman of Daily Mirror Newspapers, Sunday Pictorial Newspapers and the International Publishing Corporation (1963–1968), and a director at the Bank of England (1965–1968). Bio ...

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 Northcl ...

(1868–1940) *

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 State ...

(1869–1948) *

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 ...

(1870–1937) *

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 ...

(1872–1929) * Violet Grace Harmsworth (1873–1961), married Wilfrid Wild * Charles Harmondsworth Harmsworth (1874–1942) * William Albert St John Harmsworth (1876–1933) * Maud Sarah Harmsworth (1877–1878) * Christabel Rose Harmsworth (1880–1967), mother of

Christabel Bielenberg Christabel Mary Bielenberg (''née'' Burton, 18 June 1909 – 2 November 2003) was a British writer who was married to a German lawyer, Peter Bielenberg. She described her experiences living in Germany during the Second World War in two books: ' ...

(nee Burton), Nazi resistance figure * Vyvyan George Harmsworth (1881–1957) * Muriel Harmsworth (1882–1882) (despite the name, Muriel was a boy) * Harry Stanley Giffard Harmsworth (1885–1887) In 1939, there were five women entitled to the style of ''Lady Harmsworth''.

Career

Alfred Harmsworth, Founder, by Seymour Lucas, R

Harmsworth was a barrister of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

and one of the standing counsel for the Great Northern Railway. He has been described as an "unsuccessful" barrister. It was not until after his death that the press empire created by his sons "really took off". Harmsworth was the founder of the

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 ...

, for which he served as Secretary for a number of years.

Death

Harmsworth died on 16 July 1889. He is 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.cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

of the liver, as did his son Hildebrand, both in their 50s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harmsworth, Alfred Alcohol-related deaths in England British barristers 1837 births 1889 deaths

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 ...

Deaths from cirrhosis Members of the Middle Temple