Thomas Ballantyne (1806–1871), was a Scottish journalist. He was a native of Paisley, where he was born in 1806. Becoming editor of the '' Bolton Free Press'', he at an early period of his life took an active part in advocating social and political reforms. While editor of the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' he became intimately associated with

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a young ...

and

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn Laws ...

in their agitation against the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...

, and in 1841 he published the ''Corn Law Repealer's Handbook''. Along with Bright he was one of the four original proprietors of the ''

Manchester Examiner The ''Manchester Examiner'' was a newspaper based in Manchester, England, that was founded around 1845–1846. Initially intended as an organ to promote the idea of Manchester Liberalism, a decline in its later years led to a takeover by a group w ...

'', his name appearing as the printer and publisher. After the fusion of the ''Examiner'' with the ''Times'', he became editor of the '' Liverpool Journal'', and later of the ''Mercury''. Subsequently he moved to London to edit the ''Leader'', and he was for a time associated with

Charles Mackay Charles (or Charlie) Mackay, McKay, or MacKay may refer to: * Charles Mackay (author) (1814–1889), Scottish poet, journalist, author, anthologist, novelist, and songwriter * Charles McKay (1855–1883), American naturalist and explorer * Charles ...

in the editorial department of the ''

Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

''. He also started the ''Statesman'', which he edited till its close, when he became editor of the '' Old St. James's Chronicle''.

Bibliography

Notwithstanding his journalistic duties, he found time to contribute a number of papers on social and political topics to various reviews and magazines, in addition to which he published: *''Passages selected from the Writings of

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

, with a Biographical Memoir'', 1855 and 1870. *''Prophecy for 1855, selected from Carlyle's Latterday Pamphlets'', 1855. *''Ideas, Opinions, and Facts'', 1865. *''Essays in Mosaic'', 1870 Regarding his proficiency in this species of compilation, Carlyle himself testifies as follows: "I have long recognised in Mr. Ballantyne a real talent for excerpting significant passages from books, magazines, newspapers (that contain any such), and for presenting them in lucid arrangement, and in their most interesting and readable form". Ballantyne died at London 30 Aug. 1871.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantyne, Thomas 1806 births 1871 deaths Journalists from Paisley, Renfrewshire 19th-century British journalists British male journalists 19th-century British male writers 19th-century British writers