Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, (18 December 1862 – 20 July 1933), was a British newspaper proprietor. He was originally a Liberal politician before joining the

Liberal Unionist Party 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 political ...

in the late 1890s. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

1885–1892, 1893–1895, 1905–1906 and 1910–1916 until he inherited the Burnham barony on the death of his father.

Biography

Levy-Lawson was born in

St Pancras, London St Pancras () is a district in North London. It was originally a medieval Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the are ...

, in 1862, the son of Edward Levy (who was created

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 ...

in 1903) and his wife Harriette Georgiana Webster. The family name was legally changed from Levy to Levy-Lawson on 11 December 1875. He was educated at Cheam School, Headley, Berkshire, Eton and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He became a lieutenant in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry, treasurer of the Free Land League, vice president of the Municipal Reform League, and a member of the executive committee of Municipal Federation League. In 1891, he was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, entitling him to practise as a barrister. Harry Levy-Lawson Vanity Fair 1893-11-16

Levy-Lawson was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for St Pancras West in the 1885 general election at the age of 23, but lost the seat in the 1892 general election. He was also a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

from 1889 to 1892, for St Pancras West. He was returned to the Commons as MP for

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

at a by-election in 1893 and held the seat until his defeat at the 1895 general election. In 1905 he was elected at a by-election as MP for

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

and lost the seat in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, regaining it in January 1910. In the interim he was Mayor of Stepney between 1907 and 1909. In 1911, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of

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 ...

. Levy-Lawson was appointed a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry on 1 May 1887, and later gained the honorary rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed in command of the regiment on 18 October 1902. He saw active service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he was mentioned in despatches. In 1916, on the death of his father, he succeeded to the titles of

and the baronetcy and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He also succeeded his father in the management and ownership 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 ...

''. He was decorated with the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

(TD) and became Honorary Colonel of the 99th (Bucks and Berks Yeomanry) Brigade, Royal Artillery. He was invested as a

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

(CH) in 1917. He was the first chairman of the Burnham Committees on teachers' pay, which were named after him.

Family, interests and Hall Barn

Levy-Lawson was created Viscount Burnham, of Hall Barn, in the County of Buckingham, on 16 May 1919. He married Olive de Bathe, daughter of Sir Henry de Bathe, 4th Baronet, and Charlotte Clare, on 2 January 1884 at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. They had one daughter, Dorothy Olive Lawson (1885–1937), who married Major John Spencer Coke (son of Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester) and with whom she had three children: Gerald, Celia and Rosemary Coke – the latter later Baroness Hamilton of Dalzell. His father, who was "one of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

' set", had purchased the 4,000-acre Hall Barn estate in 1880. Viscount Burnham and his father hosted

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 his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

and 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 his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

, 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 ...

on many occasions from the early 1900s to the 1930s. On 19 December 1924, for example, Burnham hosted a dinner party for King George V with

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

, Harry's daughter, Dorothy Levy-Lawson, and her husband, Major Sir John Coke, amongst the guests. Viscount Burnham was a JP for Buckinghamshire. He received a number of honorary doctorates from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Montreal, in 1920,

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

in 1921,

Athens University The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

, Greece, in 1924,

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, Perth, Australia, in 1925,

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, Belgium, in 1927 and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, GCMG, in 1927. In 1928 he sold ''The Daily Telegraph'' to Lord Camrose and Lord Kemsley of Allied Newspapers, with Camrose taking over as editor-in-chief. He died aged 70 and was buried near his father on 24 July 1933 at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. Burnham had no surviving male issue so the viscountcy became extinct: his younger brother, William Levy-Lawson (1864–1943), succeeded to the baronetcy and barony.

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount 1862 births 1933 deaths Military personnel from the London Borough of Camden Burials in Buckinghamshire Levy-Lawson, Harry People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Burnham, V1 2 Harry People from St Pancras, London British Army personnel of World War I Deputy lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Members of the Inner Temple Levy-Lawson, Harry Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry officers Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Levy-Lawson, Harry Jewish British politicians Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Viscounts created by George V 19th-century British Army personnel