Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk
JP (27 December 1830 – 24 November 1908), known as Sir Algernon Borthwick, Bt, between 1887 and 1895, was a British journalist and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
politician. He was the owner of the ''
Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'' (which merged with ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' in 1937).
Background and education
Borthwick was the son of
Peter Borthwick
Peter Borthwick (13 September 1804 – 18 December 1852) was a British Conservative Party politician and newspaper editor.
Early life
Peter Borthwick was born in Cairnbank, Borthwick, Midlothian, on 13 September 1804, the son of Thomas Borthw ...
, editor of the ''
Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
'', and Margaret, daughter of John Colville, of Ewart,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
.
[thepeerage.com Algernon Borthwick, 1st and last Baron Glenesk](_blank)
/ref> He was sent to King's College School
King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...
.
Career
Borthwick started his career in journalism in 1850 as the '' Morning Post's'' Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
correspondent. After his father's death in 1852, he became managing editor and within seven years had paid off the newspaper's financial debt to paper manufacturers Thomas Bonsor Crompton. Borthwick gave the paper "a strong political colour, Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
, Imperialist
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
and Protectionist ... nd the paper becamethe principal organ of the fashionable world". In 1877, Borthwick succeeded in becoming the newspaper's sole proprietor and took a series of risky but ultimately highly successful financial decisions including reducing the newspaper's price from threepence to a penny which resulted in a ten-fold increase in circulation.
Borthwick was known as a conservative voice in the politics of the time and in the 1880s he switched his attention to the world of politics. In the 1880 general election, Borthwick stood unsuccessfully for Evesham
Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...
as a as a Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
candidate. However, the election was declared void on account of bribery of electors, causing a by-election. In April 1880, Borthwick was given a knighthood by Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
in Disraeli's resignation honours. In the mid-1880s, Borthwick played a role in popularizing the Primrose League
The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883.
At a late point in its existence, its declared aims (published in the ''Primrose League Gazette'', vol. 83, no. 2, March/April ...
, an organisation dedicated to spreading Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
principles in the UK. In 1885, Borthwick was elected a Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for Kensington South and became an ally of Lord Randolph Churchill
Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. Churchill was a Tory radical and coined the term 'Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, created the National Union of ...
. In 1887, he was created a Baronet, of Piccadilly in the Parish of St George, Hanover Square, in the County of Middlesex. On his retirement from the House of Commons in 1895, Borthwick was raised to the peerage as Baron Glenesk, of Glenesk in the County of Midlothian.
Borthwick's political career increased the influence on ''the Morning Post'' and the newspaper soon became "one of the great organs of opinion on the Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
side." From 1880 onwards, Borthwick handed over editorship of the newspaper to a series of editors: William Hardman, A.K. Moore, William Algernon Locker, James Nicol Dunn
James Nicol Dunn (12 October 185630 June 1919) was a Scottish journalist and newspaper editor, best known as the editor of London newspaper ''The Morning Post'' from 1897 to 1905 and as London editor of the ''Glasgow Evening News'' from 1914 unt ...
, and Fabian Ware
Major-General Sir Fabian Arthur Goulstone Ware (17 June 186928 April 1949) was a British educator, journalist, and the founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). He also served as D ...
. Under these editors, the literary standard of the newspaper was retained and a series of improvement were made. Borthwick's son, The Hon. Oliver Borthwick (1873–1905), held a managing role in ''the Morning Post'' until his own death, predeceasing his father, in 1905 aged just thirty two. When Algernon Borthwick himself died in 1908, proprietorship of ''the Morning Post'' passed his only surviving child, the Hon. Lilias Margaret Frances Borthwick
Lilias Margaret Frances, Countess Bathurst (, 12 October 187130 December 1965) was a British newspaper publisher who owned ''The Morning Post.'' Her father, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk, owned the paper and passed control to her upon h ...
(1871–1965), who in 1893 had married Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst
Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, Territorial Decoration, TD, Justice of the peace, JP, Deputy lieutenant, DL (21 July 1864 – 21 September 1943) was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper o ...
.
Marriage and children
Lord Glenesk married Alice Beatrice Lister (d. 1898) on 5 April 1870. She was the daughter of the writers Thomas Henry Lister
Thomas Henry Lister (1800 – 5 June 1842) was an English novelist and biographer, and served as Registrar General in the British civil service. He was an early exponent of the silver fork novel as a genre and also presaged "futuristic" writing i ...
and his wife Lady Maria Theresa Villiers
(Maria) Theresa Lewis (born Villiers, later Lister; 8 March 1803 – 9 November 1865) was a British writer and biographer.
Early life
Maria Theresa Villiers was born on 8 March 1803. She was the daughter of the Hon. George Villiers, a member of ...
, daughter of George Villiers. They had two children:
*The Hon. Lilias Margaret Frances Borthwick
Lilias Margaret Frances, Countess Bathurst (, 12 October 187130 December 1965) was a British newspaper publisher who owned ''The Morning Post.'' Her father, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron Glenesk, owned the paper and passed control to her upon h ...
(1871–1965), who married Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst
Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, Territorial Decoration, TD, Justice of the peace, JP, Deputy lieutenant, DL (21 July 1864 – 21 September 1943) was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper o ...
, and had four children, three sons and a daughter. Lady Bathurst eventually inherited ''The Morning Post''.
*The Hon. Oliver Borthwick (1873–1905), who predeceased his father, dying aged thirty two unmarried and without children.
Lord Glenesk died in November 1908, aged 77, when the title became extinct. Glenesk was interred in the Glenesk Mausoleum in 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.[Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...]
in 1899, and also held the remains of his wife, and his son, Oliver. The mausoleum was later listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England
The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...
.
References
Sources
*
*Reginald Lucas, ''Lord Glenesk and the ''Morning Post (London: Alston Rivers, 1910)
*H. C. G. Matthew
"Borthwick, Algernon, Baron Glenesk (1830–1908)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, Retrieved 11 Jan 2008
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Borthwick, Algernon
British political journalists
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Glenesk, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron
Glenesk, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron
Glenesk, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron
People educated at King's College School, London
19th-century British newspaper publishers (people)
Glenesk, Algernon Borthwick, 1st Baron
Burials at East Finchley Cemetery
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1886–1892
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria