Henry Sampson Woodfall (21 June 173912 December 1805) was an English printer and journalist. He was born and lived 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 ...

Biography

Woodfall's grandfather Henry Woodfall (c. 1686–1747), was the author of the ballad ''

Darby and Joan Darby and Joan is a proverbial phrase for a married couple content to share a quiet life of mutual devotion. Usage ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' defined the phrase as "a married couple celebrated for their mutual attachment", the ''Random House ...

'', for which John Darby and his wife were the originals: the elder Woodfall had been apprenticed in 1701 to Darby, a printer in Bartholomew Close in the

Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show ** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light'' ...

area of London, who died in 1730. Woodfall's grandfather printed many of the works of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

. Woodfall's uncle George was a bookseller in

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. His father, Henry Woodfall (1713–1769), was the printer of the newspaper the ''

Public Advertiser The ''Public Advertiser'' was a London newspaper in the 18th century. The ''Public Advertiser'' was originally known as the ''London Daily Post and General Advertiser'', then simply the ''General Advertiser'' consisting more or less exclusively o ...

'', and Woodfall was

apprenticed Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to his father. At the age of nineteen, Woodfall took over the control of the newspaper. In it appeared, between 21 January 1769 and 21 January 1772, the famous letters of Junius. In December 1769 Woodfall published a "Letter to the King" by Junius that brought legal charges against Woodfall and five others for

seditious libel Sedition and seditious libel were criminal offences under English common law, and are still criminal offences in Canada. Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection a ...

; Woodfall's case went before a jury in June 1770 but a verdict of

mistrial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

was handed down by

Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL (2 March 170520 March 1793) was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland, before moving to Lond ...

in November 1770. Woodfall sold his interest in the ''Public Advertiser'' in 1793. His son

George Woodfall George Woodfall (1767–1844) was an English printer. Life The son of Henry Sampson Woodfall, he was his father's partner in the printing business till December 1793, when the father retired. George Woodfall later moved to Angel Court, Snow Hill ...

(1767–1844) was also in the family printing business. Woodfall's younger brother,

William Woodfall Portrait of Portrait of William Woodfall, in the National Portrait Gallery (4672211). William Woodfall (baptised 7 February 1745 – 1803) was an English printer, publisher and Parliamentary reporter. Life William's father, Henry Woodfall, p ...

(1746–1803), a journalist, established in 1789 a daily paper called the ''Diary, or Woodfall's Register'', in which, for the first time, reports of

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

debates were published on the morning after they had taken place. William Woodfall's nickname was "Memory" Woodfall based on his ability to memorize Parliamentary speeches at a time when journalists were not allowed to take notes or write down speeches while they were being delivered.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodfall, Henry Sampson English printers English male journalists 1739 births 1805 deaths Writers from London