John Edward Taylor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named John Taylor, see John Taylor (disambiguation).

John Edward Taylor (September 11, 1791 - January 6, 1844) was the founder of the Manchester Guardian newspaper, later to become The Guardian. He was born at Ilminster, Somerset, England, to Mary Scott, the poet, and John Taylor, a Unitarian minister. He was apprenticed to a cotton manufacturer in Manchester, and later became a successful merchant. A moderate supporter of reform, he witnessed the Peterloo massacre in 1819. In 1821 he founded the Manchester Guardian, which he continued to edit until his death.

His younger son, also John Edward Taylor (though usually known as Edward) (1830-1905) became a co-owner of the Manchester Guardian in 1852 and sole owner four years later. He was also editor of the paper from 1861 to 1872. He bought the Manchester Evening News from its founder Mitchell Henry in 1868 and was owner, then co-owner, until his death. He had no children; after his death the Evening News passed into the hands of his nephews in the Allen family, while the Guardian was sold to its editor, his cousin C. P. Scott.