Hugh John Frederick Lawson, 6th Baron Burnham (15 August 1931 – 1 January 2005), was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and journalist.

Early life and education

Burnham was born in 1931, the younger son of Major General Edward Lawson, 4th Baron Burnham, and his wife Marie Enid Robson. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and read PPE at

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 ...

Career

Initially working for the ''

Cambridge Evening News The ''Cambridge News'' (formerly the ''Cambridge Evening News'') is a British daily newspaper. Published each weekday and on Saturdays, it is distributed from its Milton base. In the period December 2010 – June 2011 it had an average daily c ...

'', Burnham joined ''

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 ...

'' prior to its 1986 takeover by

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...

and held the positions of general manager and deputy managing director in the 1970s and 80s. He inherited the barony and a 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 ...

upon the death of his elder brother William Lawson, 5th Baron Burnham in 1993. He had a career in the House of Lords as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

defence spokesman and

junior whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

. He was one of the 90 hereditary peers selected to remain in the Lords after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

Marriage and children

Burnham married Hilary Hunter on 31 December 1955. They had three children:Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, vol. 1, p. 594. * Hon. Charlotte Ann Lawson (born 12 January 1960) * Hon. Emma Lucia Lawson (born 8 August 1961) * Harry Frederick Alan Lawson, 7th Baron Burnham (born 22 February 1968)

Death

Lord Burnham died in January 2005 at the age of 73. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Harry.

Arms

Notes

References

20th-century British newspaper publishers (people) People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford 6 Younger sons of barons 1931 births 2005 deaths British journalists Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999 {{UK-baron-stub