''Whitaker's'' is a reference book, published annually in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The book was originally published by J Whitaker & Sons from 1868 to 1997, then by

The Stationery Office The Stationery Office (TSO) is a British publishing company created in 1996 when the publishing arm of His Majesty's Stationery Office was privatised. It is the official publisher and the distributor for legislation, command and house papers, s ...

until 2003, and then by

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

which became a wholly owned subsidiary of

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

in 2011. The publication was acquired by Rebellion Publishing in 2020. The 153rd edition was published on 15 April 2021. Rebellion has announced that there will not be a 2022 edition.

First publication

Joseph Whitaker began preparing his Almanack in the autumn of 1868. He postponed publication of the first edition on learning of the resignation of

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

on 1 December 1868, so that he could include details of the new Gladstone administration. At the same time, Whitaker continued to expand the information so that the initially planned 329 pages grew to 370. The first edition of the Almanack appeared on 23 December 1868, priced at 1

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

, introduced by a short editorial piece written by Joseph Whitaker. It began "The Editor does not put forward this Almanack as perfect: yet he ventures to think that he has succeeded in preparing a work which will commend itself to those who desire to see improvement in this direction." It concluded by inviting critics to suggest ways in which improvements could be made. ''

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 ...

'', reviewing the first edition, described it as "the largest of the cheap almanacks" to appear, and noted it contained a great deal more valuable information than other such works. In 2013, the 2014 edition became the first to be published under the new simpler branding of "''Whitaker's''".

Content

''Whitaker's Almanack'' consists of articles, lists and tables on a wide range of subjects including

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

departments, health and social issues, and the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. The largest section is the countries directory, which includes recent

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, economic information and culture overviews. Each edition also features a selection of critical essays focusing on events of the previous year. Extensive

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies ...

data covering the forthcoming year is published at the rear of the book. Whitaker's was prized enough that

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

took a personal interest in the continued publication of the book after its

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

were destroyed in the

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

. A copy is also sealed in

Cleopatra's Needle Cleopatra's Needles are a separated pair of ancient Egyptian obelisks now in London and New York City. The obelisks were originally made in Heliopolis (modern Cairo) during the New Kingdom period, inscribed by the 18th dynasty pharaoh Thutmose I ...

on the north bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Formats

Each year the ''Almanack'' is published in two formats – the Standard Edition and a shortened Concise Edition. In previous years, a larger-format of the Standard Edition,

bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

, was produced for

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

. In 2016, Whitaker's launched its online edition through its website, which was updated weekly with free-to-view and subscription only content.

Editors

The ''Almanacks current editor is Michael Rowley.

Editors since 1868

There have been eleven editors since 1868: * Joseph Whitaker 1868–1895 * Sir

Cuthbert Whitaker Sir Cuthbert Wilfred Whitaker (26 May 1873''Who's Who in local government'', 1935 – 1950) was editor of ''Whitaker's Almanack''. He held the position for fifty-five years, succeeding his father Joseph Whitaker when he died in 1895, and was in ...

1895–1950 * F. H. C. Tatham 1950–1981 * Richard Blake 1981–1986 * Hilary Marsden 1986–1999 * Lauren Simpson 1999–2004 * Vanessa White 2001–2002 * Inna Ward 2004–2008 * Claire Fogg 2008–2010 * Ruth Northey 2010–2020 * Michael Rowley 2020–

Alternative publications

*''

The World Almanac and Book of Facts ''The World Almanac and Book of Facts'' is a US-published reference work, an almanac conveying information about such subjects as world changes, tragedies, and sports feats. It has been published yearly from 1868 to 1875, and again every year sinc ...

'' *''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available ...

'' *''

TIME Almanac with Information Please ''Time Almanac with Information Please'' was an almanac published in the United States. The almanac was first published in 1947 as the ''Information Please Almanac'' by Dan Golenpaul. The name was changed with the 1999 edition when ''Time (magazine ...

'' *''

The New York Times Almanac ''The New York Times Almanac'' was an almanac published in the United States. There were two separate and distinct series of almanacs by this name. The first of the two was initially published in 1969 by New York Times Books as the 1056 page ''The ...

'' *''

Der Fischer Weltalmanach ''Der Fischer Weltalmanach'' was an almanac, a popular publication of the information issued in Frankfurt on Main, Germany, created at the end of each year since 1959 by a team of Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag. In September 2018, the 60th and last ed ...

'' *''

Europa World Year Book The ''Europa World Year Book'' provides detailed country surveys containing analytical, statistical and directory data available for over 250 countries and territories. Volume I contains a listing of more than 2,000 international organizations s ...

In popular culture

*''Whitaker's Almanack'' provides the key to a

book cipher A book cipher, or Ottendorf cipher, is a cipher in which the key is some aspect of a book or other piece of text. Books, being common and widely available in modern times, are more convenient for this use than objects made specifically for crypto ...

message at the beginning of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's 1915

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

novel ''

The Valley of Fear ''The Valley of Fear'' is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It is loosely based on the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the ''Strand Magazine ...

''. Lt. Cmdr. Data refers to the ''Almanack'' in his

Holodeck The Holodeck is a fictional device from the television franchise ''Star Trek'' which uses "holograms" (projected light and electromagnetic energy which create the illusion of solid objects) to create a realistic 3D simulation of a real or imag ...

portrayal of Holmes in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "

Elementary, Dear Data "Elementary, Dear Data" is the third episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 29th episode overall. It was written by Brian Alan Lane and directed by Rob Bowman. It ...

." *''Whitaker's Almanack'' is mentioned in chapter 2 of

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

's ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'', with a copy being owned by the Count. *It is also mentioned in

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

's short story " The Mark on the Wall", the James Bond novel '' Moonraker'' and Evelyn Waugh's ''

Vile Bodies Vile may refer to: Characters * Vile (Mega Man X), a character from the Mega Man X game series * Doctor Vile (Dr. Weil), a character from the Mega Man Zero game series * V.I.L.E., a fictional villain group in the ''Carmen Sandiego'' franchise ...

''. *In "The Round Dozen", a short story by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

, a character recalls being advised by a famous novelist that the two most useful books for a writer are the Bible and ''Whitaker's Almanack''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Almanacs Publications established in 1868 1868 establishments in the United Kingdom British books Bloomsbury Publishing books Whitaker family Publications disestablished in 2021