Sir James Richard Thursfield (16 November 1840 – 22 November 1923) was a British naval historian and journalist. As well as being an authority on naval matters, he was also the first editor of the '' Times Literary Supplement''. Thursfield was born in Kidderminster and educated at

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Small things grow in harmony , established = , closed = , coordinates = , pushpin_map = , type = Independent day school , religion = Church o ...

and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he obtained a first-class degree in Literae Humaniores in 1863. He was appointed to a fellowship of Jesus College, Oxford in 1864, holding this until 1881, when he was obliged to resign because of his marriage in 1880. He was then appointed by Thomas Chenery, editor of '' The Times'', as a leader writer. He soon established himself as an authority on naval matters, publishing works such as ''The Navy and the Nation'' (1897), ''Nelson and other Naval Studies'' (1909), and ''Naval Warfare'' (1913). He lectured on naval strategy to the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

and the

Royal United Service Institution The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...

. Thursfield was close to successive

First Lords of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, of various political views, and to Jackie Fisher in Fisher's campaign for navy reforms. Fisher regarded Thursfield as "a great student of naval affairs", saying that his articles were "close and precisely reasoned, unadulterated by vituperation". Prince Louis of Battenberg, who served for a time as director of naval intelligence, praised Thursfield for never being afraid to state a contrary view. Thursfield worked in other areas apart from naval matters, taking charge of ''The Timess "Books of the week" in 1891, which became the '' Times Literary Supplement'' in 1902, of which he was the first editor. He wrote a biography of

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

in 1891. He was made an honorary fellow of Jesus College in 1908. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 1920 New Year Honours. He died at his home in Golders Green on 22 November 1923. His son, Henry George Thursfield, became a Rear-Admiral and later followed his father as naval correspondent for ''The Times'' between 1936 and 1952.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thursfield, James Richard 1840 births 1923 deaths People from Golders Green People from Kidderminster People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford British historians British male journalists The Times people Knights Bachelor Academics of the Staff College, Camberley