Henry Muddiman (5 February 1629, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, London, Eng. died 7 March 1692, Coldhern, near Earl's Court, London) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

active after the restoration of the monarchy, in 1660. Muddiman was born in the

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4 ...

. He was educated in St Clement's Temple and at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, after which he worked as a

school teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He began producing two regular

newsbook Newsbooks were the 17th-century precursors to today's newspapers. Originating in England and Scotland, they are distinct from the earlier news periodicals, known as corantos, which were sourced from Europe. History The first newsbook was publis ...

s – ''Parliamentary Intelligencer'' and ''Mercurius Publicus'' – in late 1659 on the proceedings of the newly reconvened

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" n ...

. This seems to have been at the suggestion of

George Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cru ...

, who also received good publicity. On 16 April 1660 this role was secured when all other such journals were banned particularly those of

Marchamont Needham Marchamont Nedham, also Marchmont and Needham (1620 – November 1678), was a journalist, publisher and pamphleteer during the English Civil War who wrote official news and propaganda for both sides of the conflict. A "highly productive propagand ...

the chief

Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

publisher. Muddiman received a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...

of print along with arch-

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

John Birkenhead Sir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead (''c''.1617 – 4 December 1679) was a British political writer and journalist, imprisoned several times during the Commonwealth for his obtrusive royalism. Birkenhead was the supposed son of Randall Birkenhead (' ...

as a supervising

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, org ...

. Muddiman lost the right to publish the journals three years later when it was handed to

Roger L'Estrange Sir Roger L'Estrange (17 December 1616 – 11 December 1704) was an English pamphleteer, author, courtier, and press censor. Throughout his life L'Estrange was frequently mired in controversy and acted as a staunch ideological defender of Kin ...

. He would transform the subtle

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

of the newsbooks into heavy-handed political

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

s leading to the rights being returned to Muddiman in 1665. By that time, Muddiman had established a good business distributing hand-written details of parliamentary proceedings which he was not allowed to print. Once the rights were returned he began publishing ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices ar ...

'' which remains the oldest surviving English

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...

. With a short hiatus over the

Exclusion crisis The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, S ...

, when there were attempts to suppress all publications, he retained exclusive rights until the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

of 1688. At the change of regime he was considered too close to the previous incumbents and retired, dying in 1692.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muddiman, Henry 1629 births 1692 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge English male journalists English newspaper founders English male non-fiction writers 17th-century English businesspeople 17th-century journalists