Dennis Griffiths (8 December 1933 – 24 December 2015) was a British journalist and historian, regarded as the founding father of newspaper history from the earliest days of Fleet Street. His ''Encyclopedia of the British Press 1422–1992'' has become a standard work of reference for the whole industry. Born in Swansea, the son of a Typesetting, compositor, he trained as a printer himself, rose to become the production chief of the London London Evening Standard, ''Evening Standard'' for 18 years and wrote six books, including a definitive history of that newspaper from its launch in 1827, much praised in the foreword by its former owner the late Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere, Vere Harmsworth. From 1999 to 2002 Griffiths was an energetic chairman of the London Press Club. In March 2002, he helped organise the 300th anniversary celebration for the first regular daily newspaper to be printed in the United Kingdom. The Prince of Wales unveiled a brass plaque at a service in St Bride's Church, St Bride’s, the journalists’ church, on the date ''The Daily Courant'' was first published in Fleet Street. In 2006 the British Library published his book ''Fleet Street – Five Hundred Years of the Press'' to coincide with an exhibition of newspaper front pages which he co-curated. He also helped prepare an oral archive of newspaper history, and that year was himself interviewed by National Life Stories (C638/06) for the 'Oral History of the British Press' collection held by the library.National Life Stories, 'Griffiths, Dennis (1 of 6) National Life Stories Collection: 'Oral History of the British Press', The British Library Board, 2006
Retrieved 28 October 2017. In 2013 he founded the Coranto Press which published scholarly works on the media. Griffiths often retold the story of how in 1969 the ''Evening Standard'' pre-printed front pages showing a facsimile colour picture of Neil Armstrong being the first man to step onto the moon – 24 hours ahead of actually landing."Former chairman of London Press Club dies"
''London Evening Standard'', 30 December 2015.

Publications

* ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press 1422–1992'', London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992. . * ''Fleet Street – Five Hundred Years of the Press'', British Library Publishing, 2006. ASIN: B00EKYHS2U.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Dennis 1933 births 2015 deaths British historians British journalists