Archibald Chisholm
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Archibald Hugh Tennent Chisholm, (August 17, 1902November 22, 1992) was a British oil executive and journalist who was editor of ''
The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' between 1937 and 1940.


Early life

Chisholm was born in 1902, his father was
Hugh Chisholm Hugh Chisholm (; 22 February 1866 – 29 September 1924) was a British journalist, and editor of the 10th, 11th and 12th editions of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Life He was born in London, a son of Henry Williams Chisholm (1809–1901), ...
, the editor of the 1911 edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'' and
city editor A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day. Mostly they stay at the publication at night and t ...
of ''
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'' (f ...
''. Chisholm attended
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...
and subsequently graduated from Christ Church, Oxford. He played football at Christ Church and later claimed to have played tennis with Helen Wills-Moody. Chisholm was also a member of the
Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
(MCC).


Oil industry

Chisholm joined the Anglo-Persian Oil Company in 1928. The Kuwait Oil Company was formed in 1934 and the initial agreement with the Kuwaitis was signed by the Kuwaiti Emir Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah with the geologist Frank Holmes representing the Gulf Oil Corporation and Chisholm representing the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Their initial agreement had been reached in December 1933 after Traders Ltd. under
George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd, (19 September 1879 – 4 February 1941) was a British Conservative politician strongly associated with the " Diehard" wing of the party. From 1937 to 1941 he was chairman of the British Council, in which ...
and Lord Glenconner, who had been in secret negotiations with the emir, were forced out by the new consortium of Holmes's Gulf Oil and Chisholm's Anglo Persian. Chisholm's request to be transferred to London was denied and he subsequently resigned from Anglo Persian in 1936. In 1975 he published a history of the early days of the Kuwaiti oil industry; ''The First Kuwait Oil Concession Agreement: A Record of the Negotiations 1911-1934''. Chisholm returned to the oil industry after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and was part of the delegation to the
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that argued the case of British Petroleum (BP) following the
nationalization of the Iranian oil industry The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry resulted from a movement in the Iranian parliament (Majlis) to seize control of Iran's oil industry, which had been run by private companies, largely controlled by foreign interests. The legislatio ...
in 1951. He remained part of BP until 1962 and subsequently served as an adviser to the company until 1972.


Journalism and Second World War

His journalistic career began after his graduation, and he spent two years as a correspondent in London and New York for the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. After the oil industry Chisholm returned to journalism as a
leader writer A leader writer is a senior journalist in a British newspaper who is charged with writing the paper's editorial either in the absence of the editor or in cases where the editor chooses not to write editorials because their editorial skills may res ...
for ''
The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' and became its editor in 1937; a position he held until 1940. It was under Chisholm's editorship that the first
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of financial news was created, called "Men and Matters". Chisholm joined the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in 1940 during the Second World War; serving in intelligence in the Middle East. Chisholm had attained the rank of Colonel by the end of the war and was Mentioned in dispatches twice. He became friends with the novelist
Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...
during his intelligence work in the war and the pair would frequently dine at the MCC in later years. He received the
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as part of the Military Division in the
1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginni ...
. Chisholm married Josephine Goudge, they married at St John-at-Hampstead in October 1939. The couple had a daughter and son. Goudge died in 1983. Chisholm moved to No. 4
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in Hampstead in 1947. ''
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'' (f ...
'' wrote in his obituary that Chisholm was 'Tall, distinguished, scholarly ndurbane" and that he was "never happier" than when he entertained friends in The Savoy Grill, with each meal there starting with
pink champagne Pink Champagne (first named Kasern 9) was a Swedish feminist punk band in the 1980s. It consisted of four women, Stina Berge (drums), Ann Carlberger (vocals), Karin Jansson (guitar) and Gunilla Welin (bass). Kajsa Grytt was briefly a member. They ...
.


Selected publications

* ''The First Kuwait Oil Concession Agreement: A Record of the Negotiations 1911-1934''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Archibald 1902 births 1992 deaths 20th-century businesspeople Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Anglo-Persian Oil Company Intelligence Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II British businesspeople in the oil industry British newspaper editors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English male journalists Financial Times editors Oil exploration in the Middle East People educated at Westminster School, London Petroleum industry in Kuwait