John Almon (17 December 1737 – 12 December 1805) was an English journalist and writer on political subjects, notable for his efforts to secure the right to publish reports on the debates in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
.
He was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and came to London, where in 1761 he was a reporter for the ''
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region, or co ...
'', and published ''A Review of Mr. Pitt's Administration'', which was popular with the opposition. In 1770 he reprinted a letter of "
Junius", for which he was put on trial and by a jury found guilty, although it is unclear what, if anything, was his punishment.
[State Trials XX, 803]
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, he published a monthly series of papers entitled ''
The Remembrancer'' on events in America. In 1784 he established a newspaper, the ''
General Advertiser
''The Independent Journal'', occasionally known as ''The General Advertiser'', was a semi-weekly New York City journal and newspaper edited and published by John McLean and Archibald McLean in the late 18th century. The newspaper's content include ...
'', but it was unsuccessful. He published ''Biographical, Literary, and Political Anecdotes'' in 1797, and his ''Correspondence'' with friend
John Wilkes
John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fo ...
appeared posthumously.
See also
*
Letters of Junius
''Letters of Junius'' (or Junius: ''Stat nominis umbra'') is a collection of private and open letters critical of the government of King George III from an anonymous polemicist ( Junius) claimed by some to be Philip Francis (although Junius' real ...
External links
*
*
A Review of Mr. Pitt's AdministrationFrom the Collections at the Library of Congress
*
ttp://revolt.hypotheses.org/367 Political opposition and publishing – the trial of bookseller and journalist John Almon in 1770* Deborah Rogers, John Almon: Bookseller as Rogue https://www.amazon.com/Bookseller-Rogue-Eighteenth-Century-Publishing-University/dp/0820402214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490715002&sr=8-1&keywords=john+almon%3A++bookseller+as+rogue
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almon, John
English male journalists
English political writers
1737 births
1805 deaths
Journalists from Liverpool
English male non-fiction writers
English social commentators