Edward Peter Mathers (19 August 1850, Edinburgh – 13 October 1924,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

) was a British author, editor, and newspaper proprietor. Edward P. Mathers was educated at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

and at the Edinburgh Institution for Languages and Mathematics. He was a journalist in England until 1878 when he emigrated from England to the British colony of South Africa. There he worked for various newspapers and became the founder-editor of the ''Natal Advertiser'', a newspaper which was published until 1937. The ''Natal Advertiser'' publicized the prospects for wealth from gold mining and fully supported British imperialism. Mathers also wrote guides and handbooks for British migrants. In the 1880s he travelled throughout the Transvaal gold fields, wrote about them, and became the first journalist to foretell their great future prospects. He returned to England in 1888, founded the weekly newspaper ''South Africa'', and inaugurated annual South African dinners in London. The newspaper ''South Africa'' was published from 1889 to 1961. In

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

on 6 August 1885 Mathers married Mary Augusta Powys, a daughter of R. H. Powys who was a cousin of

Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron Lilford (18 March 1833 – 17 June 1896), was a British aristocrat and ornithologist. Life Lilford was the eldest son of Thomas Powys, 3rd Baron Lilford, and Mary Elizabeth Fox, daughter of Henry Vassall-Fox, 3 ...

. The marriage produced one son,

Edward Powys Mathers Edward Powys Mathers (28 August 1892 – 3 February 1939) was an English translator and poet, and also a pioneer of compiling advanced cryptic crosswords. Powys Mathers was born in Forest Hill, London, the son of Edward Peter Mathers, newsp ...

, and three daughters.

Selected publications

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathers, Edward Peter 1850 births 1924 deaths Burials at the Grange Cemetery People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh People educated at Stewart's Melville College 19th-century British journalists 20th-century British journalists