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 Maffett, 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 journal ...

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 Northcl ...

Cecil Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth Cecil Bisshopp Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth (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 for ...

, 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 a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor ...

, 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 in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, East Sussex. They had four sons, Sir Hildebrand 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 Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

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

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, 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 political ...

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 e ...

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 parishes in England, 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 ...

, Hertfordshire, leading to demands in the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' 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 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 brothers Cecil and Hildebrand Harmsworth. Their stated goals were "to reflect the best Libe ...

'' with his brother Cecil Harmsworth, from its foundation in 1901 to its closure in 1904. Described by David McKie 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, 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. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

which eventually led to the

Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 The Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that makes the sale of peerages or any other honours illegal. The act was passed by the Parliament in the wake of David Lloyd George's 1922 cash-for-h ...

. 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 aged 57 on 18 April 1929, of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

of the liver. He is buried in St Helen's 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 401

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 Alumni of Merton College, Oxford