Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham
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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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''.


Biography

Edward Levy-Lawson was born Edward Levy, in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, on 28 December 1833, the son of Joseph Moses Levy and his wife Esther (née Cohen). In December 1875 his name was legally changed to Levy-Lawson. He was educated at University College School in Hampstead, London. His father had acquired ''The Daily Telegraph'' – known as ''The Daily Telegraph and Courier'' – in 1855, only months after its founding. Levy-Lawson was editor and in control of the paper long before his father's death in 1888. From 1885, he was managing proprietor, and sole controller of his renamed ''The Daily Telegraph'' and became even more influential than his father on
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
. In 1875, he assumed by royal licence the surname of Lawson in addition to and after that of Levy. He bought the Hall Barn estate in 1880. He was created a
Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
, of Hall Barn in the County of Buckingham, in 1892, and in 1903 he was raised to the peerage as
Baron Burnham Baron Burnham, of Hall Barn in the Parish of Beaconsfield in the Buckinghamshire, County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 31 July 1903 for the influential newspaper magnate Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st ...
, of Hall Barn in the Parish of Beaconsfield in the County of Buckingham. In 1886, he was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.


Personal life

Levy-Lawson's family was Jewish. He married Harriette Georgiana Webster, daughter of Benjamin Nottingham Webster, at Parish Church, Kennington, Kent, in 1862. They had three children together, Harry (later Viscount Burnham), William and Edith. Lady Burnham died in 1897. It is also believed that Levy-Lawson may have been the natural father of the author Reginald Turner, although Turner's father may have been another man of the Levy-Lawson family. Lord Burnham's love of
pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...
shooting resulted in him enjoying a close relationship with King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
, his son, King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...
, and his son King
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
, with King George paying yearly visits to him at his home, the 4,000 acre estate Hall Barn. On 18 December 1913, it was recorded by the Prince of Wales himself – later
King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
– that he and his father King George had "shot over a thousand pheasants in six hours – about one bird every 20 seconds". Altogether, 3,937 pheasants were killed. While it has been said that the shoot was not a slaughter and that very respectable birds were presented to the Guns, on the train journey home, the Prince of Wales noticed that the King was unusually quiet, his silence eventually broken when he famously said: "Perhaps we overdid it today." Lord Burnham died on 9 January 1916, aged 82, in Forest Gate, London, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Harry. He was buried in
Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.


Arms


Notes


References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *


External links


Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron Burnham , British newspaper editor and proprietor , Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Edward Levy-Lawson, 1st Baron 1833 births 1916 deaths Burials in Buckinghamshire People educated at University College School 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) 1 High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Jewish British politicians Peers created by Edward VII