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George Murray Smith (19 March 1824 – 6 April 1901) was a British publisher. He was the son of George Smith (1789–1846), who, with Alexander Elder (1790–1876), started the Victorian publishing firm of Smith, Elder & Co. in 1816. His brainchild, '' The Cornhill Magazine'', was the premier fiction-carrying magazine of the 19th century.
accessed 22 June 2015
/ref> The firm was extremely successful. Smith succeeded his father and expanded the product and sales areas to cover most Victorian topics and the British Empire. The firm also supplied a catalogue full of other products desirable to British expatriates. One of Smith's most ambitious projects was the ''
George Murray Smith (19 March 1824 – 6 April 1901) was a British publisher. He was the son of George Smith (1789–1846), who, with Alexander Elder (1790–1876), started the Victorian publishing firm of Smith, Elder & Co. in 1816. His brainchild, '' The Cornhill Magazine'', was the premier fiction-carrying magazine of the 19th century.
Life
Smith was born in 1824, the eldest son of George Smith. He adopted the middle name Murray from his mother Elizabeth. His father had started the printing business with Alexander Elder.Bill Bell, 'Smith, George Murray (1824–1901)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 201accessed 22 June 2015
/ref> The firm was extremely successful. Smith succeeded his father and expanded the product and sales areas to cover most Victorian topics and the British Empire. The firm also supplied a catalogue full of other products desirable to British expatriates. One of Smith's most ambitious projects was the ''
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 ...
'', which covered notable British figures up to its day in 63 volumes published from 1885 to 1900.
George Smith is widely acknowledged to have inspired the character of Graham Bretton in Charlotte Brontë's novel '' Villette'' (as he himself believed).
From 1890 until his death, Smith lived at Somerset House
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...
, in Park Lane, having bought the lease from Lady Hermione Graham, a daughter of the twelfth Duke of Somerset. The house became known as 40, Park Lane. He died at St. George's Hill
St George's Hill is a private gated community in Weybridge, Surrey, United Kingdom. The estate has golf and tennis clubs, as well as approximately 420 houses. Land ownership is divided between homes with gardens, belonging to home owners, and t ...
, Byfleet, Surrey on 6 April 1901.
George Murray Smith the Younger
George Murray Smith DL JP (4 February 1859 – 18 April 1919) was a chairman of the Midland Railway from 1911 until his death.
He was the son of George Murray Smith, the publisher. He was educated at Harrow School; and Jesus College, Cambridge ...
was his son.
Citations
Sources
* ODNB Bill Bell, 'Smith, George Murray (1824–1901)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 which cites as printed book sources: :* L. Huxley '' The house of Smith Elder'' (1923) :* J. W. Robertson Scott ''The story of the Pall Mall Gazette'' Oxford University Press (1950) :* J. Glynn ''Prince of publishers: a biography of George Smith'', Alison & Busby (1986)External links
* Memoir of George Smith by Sidney Lee {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, George Murray 1824 births 1901 deaths British book publishers (people) Dictionary of National Biography 19th-century British businesspeople