Edward Taylor Scott (15 November 1883 – 22 April 1932) was a British

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 journalism ...

, who was editor and briefly co-owner of the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and the younger son of its editor-owner

C. P. Scott Charles Prestwich Scott (26 October 1846 – 1 January 1932), usually cited as C. P. Scott, was a British journalist, publisher and politician. Born in Bath, Somerset, he was the editor of the ''Manchester Guardian'' (now ''the Guardian'') ...

. After a brief spell at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, Ted Scott attended the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, and eventually took a

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

external degree An external degree is a degree offered by a university to students who have not been required to be physically present within the geographic territory of the institution. These undergraduates may be called ''external students'' and may study at cl ...

, having left the LSE to work as private secretary to Sidney Olivier, the governor of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. At the LSE, he lodged with the family of the economist and ''Guardian'' contributor

J. A. Hobson John Atkinson Hobson (6 July 1858 – 1 April 1940) was an English economist and social scientist. Hobson is best known for his writing on imperialism, which influenced Vladimir Lenin, and his theory of underconsumption. His principal and ea ...

, and he later married Hobson's daughter Mabel. Scott joined the ''Manchester Guardian'' in 1913 and became its commercial editor and main writer of leaders on economic policy. In the spring of 1915, he joined the army to fight in

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 ...

. In 1918, he was captured as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

until the end of hostilities. After the war, he rejoined the paper, eventually succeeding his father as editor on 1 July 1929. Scott's most important action as editor was to move the paper from its initial position of support for

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

's National Government towards the opposition. Scott became joint owner of the ''Guardian'' with his brother John after the death of their father on New Year's Day, 1932. Less than four months later, he drowned while sailing on

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautology (language), tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere, Cumbria (town), Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in leng ...

. His death put the future independence of the ''Guardian'' in doubt, as the Scott family struggled to pay the

inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

es. He was succeeded as editor by

William Percival Crozier William Percival Crozier (1 August 1879 – 16 April 1944) was a British journalist and editor of the '' Manchester Guardian'' from 1932, when he succeeded Ted Scott, who had died in a sailing accident, until his death in 1944. Crozier was ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Edward 1883 births 1932 deaths British male journalists Alumni of the London School of Economics The Guardian journalists British newspaper editors