Sir William Emsley Carr (1 May 1867 – 5 August 1941) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

, who edited the '' News of the World'' for more than fifty years. Carr was born and raised in the

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

district of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. His uncle, Henry Lascelles Carr, was a founder and editor of the '' Western Mail'', based in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and he saw promise in Emsley, and summoned him to work as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

on the newspaper. In 1891, Lascelles Carr was part of a syndicate which purchased the ''News of the World'', a London-based Sunday newspaper with a small circulation, and he decided to appoint his nephew as its new editor.Carr, Sir (William) Emsley
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' Emsley married Lascelles' daughter, Jenny Lascelles Carr, in 1895, and worked closely with George Riddell to build up sales of the ''News of the World''. This was highly successful; by 1900, the paper was selling more than one million copies of each issue. Carr also continued to write for the ''Western Mail'', acting as its chief political correspondent until the 1930s, using his membership of the Parliamentary lobby to obtain stories. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Carr undertook extensive charity work, in support of captured Welsh soldiers. He also undertook several trips to see the war for himself, visiting France and Scapa Flow, and reporting on the Paris Peace Conference. In the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

, he was knighted for his wartime efforts. After the war, the ''News of the World'' continued to gain sales, reaching more than four million by 1940. Carr served as High Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1938, as Chairman of the Press Gallery at Parliament in 1930/1, and President of the

Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manchest ...

in 1932/3. He also sponsored various sporting events, the

Emsley Carr Mile The Emsley Carr Mile is an annual invitational athletics running event held in the United Kingdom over one mile for men. The race was won in 2022 by the British athlete Matthew Stonier. History The race was inaugurated in 1953 by Sir William Ca ...

being named in his honour some years after his death. His son,

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 ...

, was a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who also worked alongside his father as a journalist at the ''News of the World''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Emsley 1867 births 1941 deaths British newspaper editors High Sheriffs of Glamorgan People from Hunslet News of the World people Knights Bachelor