William Ramage Lawson (3 December 1840 – 15 January 1922), generally referred to as W. R. Lawson, was a British journalist, economist and author.

History

W. R. Lawson was born in

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'' ( gd, An Ceathramh Mòr; IPA: nˈkʰʲɛɾəvmoːɾ, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland. It reaches back to earliest recorded times, when it is thought to have been a major ecclesiastical ...

, Scotland, a son of James Lawson (1802–1871) and Margaret Lawson, ne Webster (1814–1870) Around 1864 he arrived in Adelaide, South Australia, and was employed by pastoralist

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the Province of South Australia. He established the South Aus ...

as his private secretary. One of his tasks was to prepare for publication Angas's ''History of the Newcastle upon Tyne Sunday School Union'' (1869). He was noticed by the editor of the

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...

, and offered a position with the paper, which had a reputation for high-quality journalism. Lawson accepted and spent three years with them, during which time his abilities were recognised, and when he announced he was leaving for Europe, hastened on account of his wife's precarious health, his farewells attested to his contribution to the paper and his personal popularity. He was a prolific writer, though his handwriting was execrable. During his time in Adelaide he also supplied individual essays to The Argus, the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

, and the

Brisbane Courier ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

, and a weekly letter to selected country newspapers. While in Europe he continued sending copy to ''The Register'', and acted as that paper's correspondent covering the Franco-Prussian War, for which he had the advantage of a fluent knowledge of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. On reaching England he found employment with the

London Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

, the

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, the

Financial News ''Financial News'' is a financial newspaper and news website published in London. It is a weekly newspaper, published by eFinancial News Limited, covering the financial services sector through news, views and extensive people coverage. ''Fin ...

and the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

, which he served as Editor 1890–1891. He wrote around a dozen books, mostly on economics topics. He died in

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

, West Sussex, and was buried at the Heene Cemetery in Worthing, West Sussex.

Family

Lawson married Ida Dora Eisenhuth (1836 – 27 May 1889) on 23 May 1864. Their children include: *James Christian Eisenhuth Lawson (18 July 1865 – 27 May 1926) *Emil Alexander Webster Lawson (28 May 1867 – ) *Caroline Lawson (7 February 1869 – ) *William Eisenhuth Lawson (19 September 1871 – 17 August 1932) *Herbert Julius Eisenhuth Lawson (12 Feb 1879 – 6 Oct 1925)

Publications

*''Our Wool Staple; or, A History of Squatting in South Australia'' (1865) Adelaide, John Howell *''British Economics in 1901'' (1905) William Blackwood & Sons, London *''The Chances of Canada'' (1911) Blackwood & Sons Edinburgh *''Modern Wars and War Taxes; A Manual of Military Finance'' (1912) London: William Blackwood & Sons. *''British Railways : A Financial and Commercial Survey'' *''British War Finance, 1914-15'' *''American Finance : Part First.--Domestic'' *''Spain of To-Day. a Descriptive, Industrial and Financial Survey of the Peninsula, with a Full Account of the Rio Tinto Mines'' *''Europe After the World War; A Financial and Economic Survey'' (1921) Financial News Office, London Most, if not all, of these titles are available as modern facsimile reprints.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, William Ramage British economics writers British newspaper editors Australian journalists 1840 births 1922 deaths Financial Times editors