Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham, (28 December 1833 – 9 January 1916), known as Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, from 1892 to 1903, was an English newspaper proprietor. He was the owner and publisher of ''

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 ...

''.

Biography

Edward Levy-Lawson was born Edward Levy, 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 the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 28 December 1833, the son of

Joseph Moses Levy Joseph Moses Levy (15 December 1812 – 12 October 1888) was a British newspaper editor and publisher. Biography Levy was born in London on 15 December 1812 to Moses Levy and Helena Moses. He was educated at Bruce Castle School, after which he ...

and his wife Esther (née Cohen). In December 1875 his name was legally changed to Levy-Lawson. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

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

. His father had acquired ''The Daily Telegraph'' – known as ''The Daily Telegraph and Courier'' – in 1855, only months after its founding. Levy-Lawson was editor and in control of the paper long before his father's death in 1888. From 1885, he was managing proprietor and sole controller of his renamed ''The Daily Telegraph'' and became even more influential than his father on

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

. In 1875, he assumed by royal licence the surname of Lawson in addition to and after that of Levy. He bought the

Hall Barn Hall Barn is a historic country house located in Beaconsfield, South Bucks district, in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Hall Barn estate was bought by Anne Waller in 1624. The house was built in the late-17th century by her son Edmun ...

estate in 1880. He was created a

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 ...

, of Hall Barn in the County of Buckingham, in 1892, and in 1903 he was raised to the peerage as

Baron Burnham Baron Burnham, of Hall Barn in the Parish of Beaconsfield in the County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 31 July 1903 for the influential newspaper magnate Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, o ...

, of Hall Barn in the Parish of Beaconsfield in the County of Buckingham. In 1886, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. High Sheriff, Sheriff is the olde ...

Personal life

Levy-Lawson's family was Jewish. He married Harriette Georgiana Webster, daughter of

Benjamin Nottingham Webster Benjamin Nottingham Webster (3 September 17973 July 1882) was an English actor-manager and dramatist. Early life Webster was born in Bath, the son of a dancing master. Career First appearing as Harlequin, and then in small parts at Dru ...

, at Parish Church,

Kennington, Kent Kennington is a suburb of Ashford and civil parish in Kent, England. It is about a mile northeast of the town centre and north of the M20 motorway, and contains the 12th-century church, St Mary's. The main A28 Canterbury Road and A2042 Faversha ...

, in 1862. They had three children together,

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

(later Viscount Burnham), William and Edith. Lady Burnham died in 1897. It is also believed that Levy-Lawson may have been the natural father of the author

Reginald Turner Reginald Turner (2 June 1869 – 7 December 1938) was an English author, an aesthete and a member of the circle of Oscar Wilde. He worked as a journalist, wrote twelve novels, and his correspondence has been published, but he is best known as on ...

, although Turner's father may have been another man of the Levy-Lawson family. Since being given lordship, Lord Burnham's love of

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

shooting resulted in him enjoying a close relationship with King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

, his son, King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, and his son King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

, with King George paying yearly visits to him at his home, the 4,000 acre estate

. On 18 December 1913, it was recorded by the Prince of Wales himself – later

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

– that he and his father King George had "shot over a thousand pheasants in six hours – about one bird every 20 seconds". Altogether, 3,937 pheasants were killed. While it has been said that the shoot was not a slaughter and that very respectable birds were presented to the Guns, on the train journey home, the Prince of Wales noticed that the King was unusually quiet, his silence eventually broken when he famously said: "Perhaps we overdid it today." Lord Burnham died on 9 January 1916, aged 82, in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

, London, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Harry. He was buried in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Arms

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *

External links

Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham , British newspaper editor and proprietor , Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron 1833 births 1916 deaths Burials in Buckinghamshire British Jews People educated at University College School 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Edward 1 High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Jewish British politicians Peers created by Edward VII