John Douglas Cook (1808?–1868) was a Scottish journalist, known as the founding editor of the '' Saturday Review''.

Life

He was born at

Banchory-Ternan Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist bu ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area inclu ...

, probably in 1808. At an early age he obtained an appointment in India, quarrelled with his employers there, and found himself destitute in London. He came to know John Walter, the proprietor of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' and John Murray of the '' Quarterly Review''; and through Murray Philip Stanhope. When John Walter was elected for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

as a Tory in 1841, Cook accompanied him to help in the election. There he met Lord Lincoln, who became part of

Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...

's administration. Lincoln found Cook a post on a commission into the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

; it came to an end about 1848. Some of the Peelite faction, to which Lincoln belonged, had bought the ''

Morning Chronicle ''The Morning Chronicle'' was a newspaper founded in 1769 in London. It was notable for having been the first steady employer of essayist William Hazlitt as a political reporter and the first steady employer of Charles Dickens as a journalist. I ...

'' to be their organ, and Cook was appointed to the editorship. In 1854 Cook ceased to be editor of the ''Morning Chronicle'' on its sale to other proprietors. Contributors to the ''Chronicle'' then supported him in the ''Saturday Review'', started in November 1855 on a new plan; and it was soon successful. Cook recognised talent and handled it well. In his later years Cook had a house at

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena ( kw, Tre war Venydh, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surroun ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

, but was seldom absent from London. He continued to edit the ''Saturday Review'' till his death, 10 August 1868. He was buried in Tintagel churchyard and a stained glass window in the parish church was added to commemorate him.Dyer, Peter (2005) ''Tintagel: a portrait of a parish''. Cambridge: Cambridge Books. ; p. 423

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, John Douglas 1808 births 1868 deaths Scottish journalists Burials in Cornwall 19th-century British journalists British male journalists 19th-century British male writers