Lord Northcliffe (1865-1922)
Who knows where these things will end? Alfred Harmsworth, Irish-born born founder of the Daily Mail, was educated at Stamford School in Lincolnshire.
Like many of his schoolfellows, Harmsworth's early career was neither glittering nor burnished with glory. Indeed, after starting out as a freelance journalist, he became editor of Bicycling News. In Coventry.
And there the story might have ended, had not Harmsworth come up with the idea of starting up a popular paper, designed to cater for the lowbrow reading tastes of men and women made literate by the 1870 Education Act. The result was Answers to Correspondents, later rechristened Answers. Fantastically popular, the rag was the forerunner of a whole stable of cheap publications that, together, formed the beginnings of the mighty Amalgamated Press. Harmsworth believed he had the Midas touch and his brother Harold, later Lord Rothermore, had real gold to pour into the venture.
Then came the dread day. On 4 May 1896, Harmsworth launched the Daily Mail, aptly described by Lord Salisbury as a paper written "By office boys for office boys". Indeed, one can't help but wonder whether, during his time at Stamford School, Harmsworth gained an early insight into what made the Victorian office boy tick.
The Mail was resoundingly successful and, even today, many under-educated women persist in buying it.
Northcliffe's motto was "Explain, simplify, clarify". He took control of The Times in 1908.
Despite his success, Northcliffe was often marginalised by politicians, many of whom went to major public schools. Renowned for his autocracy and megalomania, Lord Northcliffe had a major breakdown and died at London on 14 August 1922.
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