William Nosworthy Churchill (1796–1846) was a British-born journalist who moved to the Ottoman Empire at age 19 and caused a diplomatic incident resulting in the temporary severance of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire. As an unexpected result he became the founder of the '' Ceride-i Havadis'' newspaper.

Biography

He was born in London on 7 November 1796, the son of Frederick Henry Churchill (1759–1840) of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and Dorothy (née Nosworthy) (1768–1846) of

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

, Devon.Levantine Heritage
/ref> In 1815 at the age of 19 he went to the Ottoman Empire, possibly as a foreign correspondent for the English '' Morning Herald'' newspaper, and settled in Smyrna ( İzmir). In 1824 he married Beatrix Belhomme (1803–1895) daughter of a French merchant, with whom he had 11 children including Alfred Black (1826–1870), the explorer and diplomat Henry Adrian (1828–1886), and the artist William. A grandson, William Sydney Churchill, was a British-Ottoman Gendarmerie officer who served in Egypt, Crete, and Turkey during the Ottoman Empire. He later moved to Istanbul where he was known as a wood merchant.

Diplomatic Service

After working as a dragoman (interpreter) at the US Consulate, ''The Levantines and their legacy in the Ottoman newspaper press: A case study about William Nosworthy Churchill'' Dr Birten Çelik, Associate Professor of History, Middle East Technical University, Ankara.
/ref> he was appointed American Vice-Consul in 1831. In 1833 he became Acting Consul and was then recommended to be Consul following the resignation of the former incumbent,Information from National Archives, State Dept. RG59, Consular Dispatches, Constantinople.
/ref>. However, he was not appointed and in April 1834 was dismissed and instructed to hand over the Consulate archives and the balance of its funds. Churchill claimed that he had been defamed by a known perpetrator and asked the American President to conduct an inquiry.

The 'Churchill Affair'

In 1836 while out hunting in Kadıköy, a large residential district on the Asian shore of Constantinople, he accidentally shot and wounded the son of Necati Efendi, a civil servant holding a high position in the Title Deed Office. Churchill was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned while the boy's injuries were being assessed. His release, obtained through the intervention of the British Ambassador

Lord Ponsonby Baron Ponsonby may refer to: * Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), a hereditary title that was created in 1806 and became extinct in 1866 * Frederick Ponsonby, Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton (born 1958), Labour politician *Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Ba ...

, caused a diplomatic incident resulting in the dismissal of Akif Pasha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and temporary severance of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire.''Un diplomat Ottoman en 1836 (Affaire Churchill)'', Arthur Alric; Paris 1892
/ref> In compensation for his detention Churchill was handsomely compensated with the ''Nişan-i İftihar'' (Order of Glory, the second highest decoration in the Ottoman Empire), a settlement of 400,000 piastres (then a very substantial sum), and trade concessions, including the right to export 10,000 Ottoman gallons of olive oil.

Newspaper proprietor

Having worked as an interpreter, Churchill was familiar with the Turkish language and the Ottoman Turkish script and in 1840 started publishing the '' Ceride-i Havadis'' (Journal of News), a weekly newspaper which received financial support from the government. ''Ceride-i Havadis'' entry in Turkish Wikipedia ''Ceride-i Havadis'' published foreign news items translated by Churchill and his staff, and was the first and only semi-private paper in the Ottoman Empire until 1860. He died in Constantinople on 7 September 1846 aged 49 and was buried in the

Feriköy Protestant Cemetery Feriköy Protestant Cemetery ( tr, Feriköy Protestan Mezarlığı) officially called ''Evangelicorum Commune Coemeterium'' is a Christian cemetery in Istanbul, Turkey. As its name indicates, it is the final resting place of Protestants residing ...

. Churchill was succeeded as publisher of the ''Ceride-i Havadis'' by his son Alfred Black who went to Sevastopol during the Crimean War to cover the fighting for English newspapers; his reports were also published in special supplements to ''Ceride-i Havadis''. In 1860 Alfred Churchill also established a daily version of the newspaper, '' Ruzname-i Ceride-i Havadis.'' It was the first Turkish newspaper to be published on a daily basis during the Ottoman period. Alfred died in 1870, aged 45,Death Certificate of Alfred Churchill
/ref> but the business continued until 1887 when both papers closed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, William Nosworthy 1796 births 1846 deaths Expatriates in the Ottoman Empire Journalists from London

Biography

Diplomatic Service

The 'Churchill Affair'

Newspaper proprietor

Further reading

References