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Hugh Chisholm (; 22 February 1866 – 29 September 1924) was a British journalist, and editor of the 10th, 11th and 12th editions of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
''.


Life

He was born in London, a son of Henry Williams Chisholm (1809–1901), Warden of the Standards at the
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, and his wife Anna Louisa Bell; the mathematician Grace Chisholm was his sister. He was educated at
Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head ...
and matriculated at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...
in 1884, graduating in 1888 with a first class in '' literae humaniores''. He was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at the
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in 1892. Chisholm worked for '' The St James's Gazette'' as assistant editor from 1892 and was appointed editor in 1897. During these years, he also contributed numerous articles on political, financial and literary subjects to the weekly journals and monthly reviews, becoming well known as a literary critic and conservative publicist. He moved in 1899 to '' The Standard'' as chief leader-writer and moved in 1900 to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', to act as co-editor with Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace and President Arthur Twining Hadley of
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...
on preparation of the eleven volumes forming the 10th edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. In 1903, he became editor-in-chief for the
11th edition 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested ...
, which was completed under his direction in 1910, and published as a whole by the
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...
, in 29 volumes, in 1911. He subsequently planned and edited the ''Britannica Year-Book'' (1913). Chisholm had been suggested as replacement as editor of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'' as an alternative to Geoffrey Dawson.
Lord Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...
, owner of ''The Times'' from 1909, promised him the post in 1911, but did not act on the promise, and Dawson continued to 1919. In 1913, following his return from America overseeing the printing of ''The Britannica Year-Book'', Chisholm was appointed day editor of ''The Times''. His role included that of leader writer; but eventually he fell out with Northcliffe. In August 1913 he was appointed a director of the company. He was financial editor throughout
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, resigning in 1920 when he embarked on the editorship of the three volumes forming the 12th edition of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', published in 1922.


Family

In 1893 Chisholm married Eliza Beatrix Harrison, daughter of Henry Harrison of
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...
. Together they had three sons. Their son
Archibald Chisholm Archibald Hugh Tennent Chisholm, (August 17, 1902November 22, 1992) was a British oil executive and journalist who was editor of ''The Financial Times'' between 1937 and 1940. Early life Chisholm was born in 1902, his father was Hugh Chisholm, t ...
played a key role in the development of the oil industry in
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...
and was editor of the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' from 1937 to 1940.


References

* ''The Times'', 30 September 1924, p 14, Issue 43770, Col d. Obituary of Chisholm. *
Janet E. Courtney Janet Elizabeth Courtney (born Barton-upon-Humber, 27 November 1865; died London, 24 September 1954) was an English scholar, writer and feminist. Early life She was a daughter of the Revd George Hogarth and Jane Elizabeth Uppleby; sister of the ...
: ''An Oxford Portrait Gallery'', (London) 1931, pp 167–157. Janet Courtney, née Hogarth, worked for ''The Times'' Book Club and was later responsible for the arrangement of the Index volume to the 11th and 12th editions of ''
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
''. * Anon, ''History of "The Times"'', Vol 3, 1884 - 1912, (1939) pp 121, 519, 755, 829 * ''Ibid'', Vol 4, 1912 - 1920, (1947) pp 143, 137, 138, 208, 472 * ''
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 ...
'', article "Hugh Chisholm"


External links


The Chisholm family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Hugh 1866 births 1924 deaths Deaths from appendicitis Lawyers from London British male journalists Encyclopædia Britannica British encyclopedists English people of Scottish descent