''Diogenes, a Light upon many Subjects'' was a British weekly magazine of

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

established in 1853 with Robert Kemp Philp as the proprietor. Issue Number 1 appeared on 1 January 1853. The last issue, Number 137, appeared on 11 August 1855.

History

In January 1853, ''Diogenes'' was founded as a direct rival and competitor to the weekly magazine ''Punch'', which was founded in 1841. The first issue was sold on Saturday, 1 January 1853. The price of the newspaper was originally tuppence but was eventually raised to three pence. Philp was the proprietor of ''Diogenes'' and supervisory editor of

Watts Phillips Watts Phillips (16 November 1825 – 2 December 1874) was an English illustrator, novelist and playwright best known for his play ''The Dead Heart'', which served as a model for Charles Dickens' ''A Tale of Two Cities''. In a memoir, his sister E ...

, who functioned as sub-editor and provided cartoons under the name ''The Ragged Philosopher''. Literary contributors included Robert Brough, William Brough, Angus Reach,

Augustus Mayhew Augustus Septimus Mayhew (1826 – 25 December 1875) was an English journalist and author, born in London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on ...

, and

George Augustus Henry Sala George Augustus Henry Fairfield Sala (November 1828 – 8 December 1895) was an author and journalist who wrote extensively for the ''Illustrated London News'' as G. A. S. and was most famous for his articles and leaders for ''The Daily Telegra ...

. Besides Watts Phillips, in the first year the three main illustrators were William McConnell (1833–1867), Charles H. Bennett (1828–1867), and William Newman (1817–1870). Newman, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, had resigned from ''Punch'' in April 1850 on account of its anti-Catholic editorial position. Starting in 1854, Alfred Thompson contributed numerous illustrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diogenes (British magazine) Satirical magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1853 Magazines disestablished in 1855 Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Victorian culture 1853 establishments in the United Kingdom 1855 disestablishments in the United Kingdom