Basil Andrew Murray (1902–1937), was a British editor, journalist and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Background

Murray was the second son of the scholar

Gilbert Murray George Gilbert Aimé Murray (2 January 1866 – 20 May 1957) was an Australian-born British classical scholar and public intellectual, with connections in many spheres. He was an outstanding scholar of the language and culture of Ancient Greece ...

and Lady Mary Howard, daughter of the 9th Earl of Carlisle. He was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

(Classical Scholarship and Charles Oldham Prize). In 1927, he married Pauline Mary Newton, daughter of the artist of

Algernon Newton Algernon Newton (1880–1968) was a British landscape artist known as the "Canaletto of the canals". Biography Newton was born in Hampstead in 1880, a grandson of Henry Newton, one of the founders of the Winsor & Newton the art materials co ...

.''The Liberal Year Book, 1929'' Their daughters were the writers

Ann Paludan Ann Elizabeth Paludan (née Murray) (1928–2014) was a British author of several books on Chinese history, sculpture and architecture. Biography Ann Paludan was the daughter of Basil Murray. Her father was the second son of the eminent classic ...

(1928–2014) and Venetia Murray (1932–2004). His sister, the writer

Rosalind Murray Rosalind Murray (1890–1967, aged 76-77) was a British-born writer and novelist known for ''The Happy Tree'' and ''The Leading Note''. Murray's parents were the classical scholar Gilbert Murray (1866-1957) and Lady Mary Henrietta Howard (1865� ...

(1890–1967), was the first wife of

Arnold J. Toynbee Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...

Professional career

Murray was Editor of ''Oxford Outlook'' from 1920–23. He was

Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

to H.I.H.

Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu , was the second son of Emperor Taishō (Yoshihito) and Empress Teimei (Sadako), a younger brother of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and a general in the Imperial Japanese Army. As a member of the Imperial House of Japan, he was the patron of severa ...

of Japan during his visit to Europe. As a journalist, he covered the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

from the Republican side, making radio broadcasts from

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

. His biography of

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 ...

, ''L. G.'' was published in 1932.

Political career

Murray was employed at the Liberal Campaign Department in 1927. He was Liberal candidate at the

1928 St Marylebone by-election The 1928 St Marylebone by-election was held on 30 April 1928. The by-election was held due to the resignation of the incumbent Conservative MP, Douglas Hogg Douglas Martin Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham, Baron Hailsham of Kettlethorpe (born 5 ...

. He was Liberal candidate for the

Argyllshire Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

division at the

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and 1935 General Elections. Murray became involved in

anti-Fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

activism after Hitler's rise to power and in 1936 managed to incite a riot by heckling the British fascist

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

during a speech at Oxford. He was subsequently tried and convicted of breach of the peace in a proceeding described by the philosopher

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

as a disastrous miscarriage of justice.

Electoral record

Death and legacy

While the Valencia correspondent for the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

, he died on board the British hospital ship ''

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

'' on the way to Marseilles, purportedly of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. A scandalous account in which he caught the pneumonia from close contact with a female ape, is given by

Sefton Delmer Denis Sefton Delmer (24 May 1904, Berlin, Germany – 4 September 1979, Lamarsh, Essex) was a British journalist of Australian heritage and propagandist for the British government during the Second World War. Fluent in German, he became friendly ...

, who devotes six pages to it. Murray provided

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

with the model and first name for his anti-hero, Basil Seal, star of the novels '' Black Mischief'' and ''

Put Out More Flags ''Put Out More Flags'', the sixth novel by Evelyn Waugh, was first published by Chapman and Hall in 1942. The title comes from the saying of an anonymous Chinese sage, quoted and translated by Lin Yutang in ''The Importance of Living'' (1937): ...

''. He was the model for Jasper Aspect in '' Wigs on the Green'' by

Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Basil Andrew 1902 births 1937 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of New College, Oxford British male journalists British anti-fascists