Sir Hildebrand Aubrey Harmsworth, 1st Baronet (15 March 1872 – 18 April 1929) was a British newspaper proprietor, twice unsuccessful parliamentary candidate, and member of the Harmsworth publishing family.

Early life and family

Hildebrand Harmsworth was born on 15 March 1872, the fifth son of

Alfred Harmsworth Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

, a barrister, and Geraldine Mary, daughter of William Maffett. He was the brother of

Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the '' Daily Mail'' and the '' Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journ ...

Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere, (26 April 1868 – 26 November 1940) was a leading British newspaper proprietor who owned Associated Newspapers Ltd. He is best known, like his brother Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Nort ...

Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth LLD (23 September 1869 – 13 August 1948), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1915 and as Under-Secretary of Stat ...

and Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet. He was educated privately and in 1892 went up to

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

, Oxford, but did not stay to complete a degree."Sir Hildebrand Harmsworth", ''The Times'', 20 April 1929, p. 17.

Marriage

Harmsworth married Kathleen Mary Berton on 4 July 1900, daughter of E. Denny Berton, MB, CM.Hamilton, Everard. (1920
''Hamilton memoirs: Being historical and genealogical notices of a branch of that family which settled in Ireland in the reign of King James I.''
2nd edition. Dundalk: William Tempest, Dundalgan Press. p. 59. By the time of the 1911 census they were living at First Avenue,

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th ...

, East Sussex. They had four sons, Hildebrand Alfred Beresford Harmsworth, 2nd Baronet (1901–1977) Ronald Aubrey Leicester Harmsworth (1902 – 26 January 1946), Chamberlain Michael Hildebrand Harmsworth (b. 1903), and Perceval Anthony Thomas Harmsworth (b. 1907). His grandson was Hildebrand Harold Harmsworth, 3rd Baronet.

Politics

Harmsworth stood for the Parliamentary seat of

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...

, Kent, in the British 1900 general election as a Liberal Imperialist but was not elected. He stood for the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

, Shropshire, seat as a tariff reformer and

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

in the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting electi ...

but was again unsuccessful, achieving 39% of the vote. In 1905, a boy was killed in a motor accident at

Markyate Markyate is a village and civil parish in north-west Hertfordshire, close to the border with Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Geography The name of the village has had several former variants, including ''Markyate Street'', ''Market Street'' and ...

, Hertfordshire, leading to demands in the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'' that driving tests and certificates of competence be introduced, and the offer of a £100 reward to catch the "motor criminals". It soon transpired that the car involved in the accident, which did not stop, was owned by Hildebrand Harmsworth, brother of Sir Alfred Harmsworth, owner of the ''Daily Mail'', and driven by Hildebrand's chauffeur. The passengers were Hildebrand Harmsworth's political supporters. The chauffeur was eventually sentenced to a jail term of six months hard labour and his passengers censured for failing to insist that the car stop after the accident. Hildebrand Harmsworth gave £300 to a charity fund to help the boy's mother.

Career

Harmsworth was the publisher of '' The Globe'' from 1908 to 1911 which he bought from the Armstrong family who had been represented by Sir George Armstrong as editor-in-chief.

Waldon Peacock Waldon is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alton Waldon (born 1936), American politician * Billy Ray Waldon (born 1952), American murderer * Connor Waldon (born 1995), English footballer * Keith Waldon, English football manager ...

became the new editor under Harmsworth who proceeded to try to modernise the paper, aspects of which had not changed for 50 years. He was the joint editor of a short-lived monthly periodical, ''

New Liberal Review The ''New Liberal Review'' was a short-lived British, monthly periodical published from 1901 to 1904 in London. The ''New Liberal Review'' was founded by Cecil B. Harmsworth and Hildebrand A. Harmsworth. Their stated goals were "to reflect the b ...

'' with his brother

Cecil Harmsworth Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth LLD (23 September 1869 – 13 August 1948), was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1915 and as Under-Secretary of State ...

, from its foundation in 1901 to its closure in 1904.Thorpe, p. 7.
/ref> Described by

David McKie David McKie (born 1935) is a British journalist and historian. He was deputy editor of ''The Guardian'' and continued to write a weekly column for that paper until 4 October 2007, called "Elsewhere". Until 10 September 2005, he also wrote a sec ...

as "famously useless","Elsewhere: Aspiring creatures" by David McKie, ''The Guardian'', 13 January 2000, p 1.19. Harmsworth became a baronet in the

1922 Birthday Honours The 1922 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

, one of a long and controversial list of honours proposed by

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

which eventually led to the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. On hearing the news, his family sent him a telegram with the sarcastic message "At last, a grateful nation has given you your due reward."

Death and legacy

Harmsworth died on 18 April 1929, of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

of the liver.Bourne, p. 122.
/ref> He is buried in

St Helen's St Helens or St. Helen's may refer to: Places Australia * St Helens, Queensland (Fraser Coast Region), a locality in the Fraser Coast Region * St Helens, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality in the Toowoomba Region * St Helens Beach, Queens ...

churchyard, Hove, with his second son Ronald. He left a legacy to Merton College to be used to fund scholarships for postgraduate study.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmsworth, Hildebrand 1872 births 1929 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

British publishers (people) Liberal Unionist Party parliamentary candidates Deaths from cirrhosis