Joseph Moses Levy (15 December 1812 – 12 October 1888) was a British newspaper editor and publisher.

Biography

Levy was born in London on 15 December 1812 to Moses Levy and Helena Moses. He was educated at Bruce Castle School, after which he was sent to Germany to learn the printing trade. When he returned to England he established a printing company in Shoe Lane, Fleet Street. Levy became involved in the newspaper industry; by 1855 he was chief proprietor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

''. Colonel Arthur Sleigh founded the '' Daily Telegraph & Courier'' on 29 June 1855, and Levy agreed to print the newspaper. The venture was not a success and when Sleigh was unable to pay his printing bill, Levy took over the newspaper. In 1855, there were ten newspapers published in London. ''

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'' (f ...

'', at sevenpence, was the most expensive and had a circulation of 10,000. Its two main rivals, the '' Daily News'' and the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'', both cost fivepence. Levy believed that if he could produce a cheaper newspaper than his main competitors, he could expand the size of the overall market. Levy decided that his son, Edward Levy-Lawson, and

Thornton Leigh Hunt Thornton Leigh Hunt (10 September 1810 – 25 June 1873) was the first editor of the British daily broadsheet newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph''. Life Hunt was the son of the writer Leigh Hunt and his wife Marianne, ''née'' Kent. As a child ...

, should edit the newspaper. When he re-launched the newspaper on 17 September 1855, Levy used the slogan, "the largest, best, and cheapest newspaper in the world". Within a few weeks, the one-penny '' Daily Telegraph'' was outselling ''The Times'', and by January 1856, Levy was able to announce that circulation had reached 27,000. The early ''Daily Telegraph'' supported the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and progressive causes such as the campaign against capital punishment. It also urged reform of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

and the banning of corporal punishment in the armed forces.

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

's book ''Herr Vogt'', published in 1860, included a personal, antisemitic attack on Levy, after the ''Daily Telegraph'' reprinted an article by

Carl Vogt August Christoph Carl Vogt (; 5 July 18175 May 1895) was a German scientist, philosopher, popularizer of science, and politician who emigrated to Switzerland. Vogt published a number of notable works on zoology, geology and physiology. All his ...

critical of Marx. After criticising the ''Telegraphs 'determination to be Anglo-Saxon', Marx continues:

Mother Nature has inscribed evy'sorigins in the clearest possible way right in the middle of his face. The nose of the mysterious stranger of Slawkenbergius who had got the finest nose from the promontory of noses was just a nine–days' wonder in Strasbourg, whereas Levy's nose provides conversation throughout the year in the City of London ... Indeed the great skill of Levy's nose consists in its ability to titillate with a rotten smell, to sniff it out a hundred miles away and to attract it. Thus Levy's nose serves the ''Daily Telegraph'' as Elephant's trunk, antenna, lighthouse and telegraph.

Levy was heavily involved in the production of the ''Daily Telegraph''. As well as managing the newspaper he also wrote theatre and art reviews. Levy died at his home, Florence Cottage, on 12 October 1888, in Ramsgate,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Personal life

Throughout most of his life Levy lived at 51 Grosvenor Street, London. He married Esther Cohen in 1830. Levy had seven children, six of which were with Cohen. Their son

Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham, (28 December 1833 – 9 January 1916), known as Sir Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baronet, from 1892 to 1903, was an English newspaper proprietor. He was the owner and publisher of ''The Daily Telegraph''. Bi ...

, owned the '' Daily Telegraph'' outright and expanded its success greatly. Edward Levy-Lawson was the grandfather of Maj. Hon. Sir John Spencer Coke.

References

Sources

* Oxford '' Dictionary of National Biography'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Joseph Moses 1812 births 1888 deaths 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) British Jews Burials at Balls Pond Road Cemetery Businesspeople from London People educated at Bruce Castle School The Sunday Times people 19th-century English businesspeople