Edward Cave (27 February 1691 – 10 January 1754) was an English printer, editor and publisher. He coined the term "

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

" for a periodical, founding ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' in 1731, and was the first publisher to successfully fashion a wide-ranging publication. The son of a cobbler, Cave was born in Newton near

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

, and attended

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, but was expelled after being accused of stealing from the headmaster

Henry Holyoake Henry Holyoake (1657–1731) was a headmaster of Rugby School for more than forty years in the 17th and 18th centuries. Life Holyoake was probably born in Warwickshire in 1657, the son of Thomas Holyoake and Anne his wife, and the grandson of Fr ...

. He worked at a variety of jobs, including timber merchant, reporter and printer. He conceived the idea of a periodical that would cover every topic the educated public was interested in, from commerce to poetry, and tried to convince several London printers and booksellers to take up the idea. When no one showed any interest, Cave took on the task himself. ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was launched in 1731 and soon became the most influential and most imitated periodical of its time. It also made Cave wealthy. Cave was an astute businessman. He devoted all his energy to the magazine, and rarely left its offices at

St John's Gate, Clerkenwell St John's Gate, in Clerkenwell, Middlesex, now within central London, is one of the few tangible remains from Clerkenwell's monastic past. It was built in 1504 by Prior Thomas Docwra as the south entrance to the inner precinct of Clerkenwell Prio ...

. He made use of many contributors, most famously

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, who was always grateful to Cave for having provided his principal employment for many years. Cave himself often contributed pieces to the Magazine under the pen name of Sylvanus Urban. He also obtained a licence from

Lewis Paul Lewis Paul (died 1759) was the original inventor of roller spinning, the basis of the water frame for spinning cotton in a cotton mill. Life and work Lewis Paul was of Huguenot descent. His father was physician to Lord Shaftesbury. He may hav ...

for 250 spindles for his

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

roller-spinning machine, a precursor of the

water frame The water frame is a spinning frame that is powered by a water-wheel. Water frames in general have existed since Ancient Egypt times. Richard Arkwright, who patented the technology in 1769, designed a model for the production of cotton thread; ...

. In 1742 he bought

Marvel's Mill Marvel's Mill (or Marvell's Mill) on the River Nene in Northampton, England, was the world's second factory for spinning cotton, the first to be operated as a water mill, and the first to be driven by an inanimate power-source. Opened by Edward ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and converted this to a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

, probably the first water-powered spinning mill in the world. This was apparently profitable, but only modestly so. It closed in 1761, or soon after. Cave suffered from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

. He is buried at St. James Church, Clerkenwell.

References

External links

Online page images of Gentlemen's Magazine
Covering v. 1 (1731) to v. 20 (1750).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Edward 1691 births 1754 deaths British magazine publishers (people) People from Rugby, Warwickshire People educated at Rugby School English editors 18th-century English businesspeople 18th-century British journalists